Rex Ryan admits it was hard to see Chris Hogan move on to the New England Patriots last season.

Ryan was fired as the coach of the Buffalo Bills last year, while the Patriots won another Super Bowl. The Bills were unsuccessful in trying to re-sign Hogan.

"This one drives me crazy because that was the one player I definitely did not want to lose when I was at Buffalo," Ryan said.

"Not only was he really our best receiver that year, remember, he was third, I think, in the league in yards per reception, he averaged over 17 yards a catch, so that was impressive, but he was also our best special teams player. This kid's a great football player, a great competitor, and a great athlete. You know, obviously, he was a multi-sport athlete in college and you don't want to lose these guys."

Ryan assumed then-general manager Doug Whaley would put a second-round tender on Hogan as a restricted free agent, but that didn't happen.