One of the best things within sports is a true underdog story that turns out for the best. The Buffalo Bills are in the spotlight for making an underdog story come true for linebacker Joe Andreessen. The Buffalo native has overcome all of the obstacles and secured himself a roster spot heading into Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Bills beat reporter Joe Buscaglia reported the news surrounding Andreessen. As Josh Allen calls him, “Buffalo Joe” will now be playing in front of the team that he watched growing up right down the road.
Buffalo native and rookie undrafted LB Joe Andreessen has made the Bills' initial 53-man roster, according to a source.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 27, 2024
Joe Andreessen defined all the odds in preseason
It all started in the Bills’ first preseason game against the Chicago Bears, where Andreessen had little flashes of potential. Then he got the call as a starter heading into Pittsburgh. Aside from Greg Rousseau, Andreessen was the best player on the field and it wasn’t even close. He led the Bills in tackles with 12 and a couple for a loss.
Due to the injury of Matt Milano (bicep), Andreessen’s chances of making the roster slightly improved, but he was going to need to show that he can play pro football with guys that were drafted over him. He has shown that it doesn’t matter where you were drafted (or if you were even drafted at all).
Andreessen managed to take a roster spot from Deion Jones, who at one point was a top ten linebacker back when he was with the Atlanta Falcons. Injuries have hurt Jones along the way and it looks like he has just lost a step.
Even though Andreessen was able to secure a roster spot, the chances of him getting any sort of playing time is slim to none. Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams will more than likely be the starting combo in Buffalo’s 4-2-5 defense. However, Bills fans could easily see Andreessen step onto the field in case an injury occurs, or even on special teams as well.
All in all, seeing a hometown kid make the team that the city loves so much brings a good energy. Andreessen will now get his chance in the NFL and who knows, maybe he becomes an eventual starter should something happen with the Bills’ roster. While Bills fans should not expect anything huge out of Andreessen, they can still say that a hometown player will get to suit in front of the most passionate fanbase in the entire NFL.