Buffalo Bills' Jerry Hughes Details How He Stays Healthy With B1 Performance Patch (Exclusive)

Jerry Hughes has been playing in the NFL since 2010, which is well past the average playing span (3.3 years, according to Statista). The Buffalo Bills defensive lineman has been a consistent player for the last 10 seasons which has helped him remain in the league. However, Hughes has been using the B1 Performance Patch, which contains Thiamine (Vitamin B1), to help him get the vitamins he needs to stay healthy.

"It's a patch that you put on your body," Hughes told us for our series PopCulture @ Home. "Since I play sports, I like to put it on my chest. It's just a nice energy boost. Throughout my workout, I can really feel it, especially when in the middle of my workout. Normally, there are times where I just feel fatigued or really don't feel like finishing a set. I can push through with that ease, and that patch makes that big of a difference. It's amazing."

Hughes, who has been using the patch since 2018, said he was introduced to the product by Pepper Johnson who is a former NFL player and defensive line coach. Johnson introduced Hughes to Jerry Castello, the founder of B1 Wellness and Performance Patch, and Hughes was interested when he learned more about the product.

"The interesting thing is that we actually take those vitamins in the NFL," Hughes said. "We already had a lot of information on the vitamin and how great it is for your body to kind of have that in there because it's just a natural source of energy that everyone really needs. It was just perfect timing. For a guy who has been in the league for 11 years, my stamina is just unbelievable. I'm still running around guys who are 25, 26 years of age."

Hughes, 32, is a big reason the Bills have one of the better defenses in the NFL, on Sunday, the Bills defeated the New York Jets, in part due to Hughes' strong performance with two tackles and one fumble recovery. It's clear Hughes continues to play at a high level while using the performance patch, but one other aspect of staying healthy this season is the COVID-19 pandemic. Hughes said the players are tested every day to make sure there are no COVID outbreaks, which could lead to a major setback for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations.

"Even with the days we have off, we still gotta wake up and get your daily COVID testing," Hughes said. "We understand why, but it's just very unprecedented at this time. We're not used to taking a test. I didn't take the test until I actually showed up for work. I've been taking it since August and it's been going in two months. It will be something that we're kind of slowly getting used to it, but you really don't get used to it because someone's shoving a Q-tip up your nose and you having to make small talk for about 15 seconds."