Report: UDFA LB Joe Andreessen completes unbelievable story, makes Bills roster

Buffalo Bills undrafted free agent Joe Andreessen has reportedly made the team's initial 53-man roster.

Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

It actually happened.

There are likely more poetic ways to commence an article about an overlooked linebacker making his hometown NFL club just months after trying out as an undrafted free agent, but those three words go a long way in illustrating the surreality of what is now reality: it actually happened.

Former University at Buffalo linebacker Joe Andreessen has made the Buffalo Bills’ initial 53-man roster, per The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia, marking the culmination of what has been a storybook journey that has seen the 24-year-old transform himself from a roster long shot with a dream into an unequivocal fan favorite in just a few short months. 

Andreessen, for lack of a better phrase, is simply not supposed to be here; undersized undrafted linebackers out of underperforming Mid-American Conference programs generally don’t crack active NFL rosters just months after trying out for them. The defender, however, never took the low expectations attributed to him as a burden; he instead consistently exceeded them, flashing throughout the summer to ultimately carve out a spot on the active unit.

Stay up to date on roster moves with our 2024 Buffalo Bills 53-man roster tracker

The Depew, NY native first made a name for himself amongst Western New York football fans as a defender for the Lancaster Legends, recording 118 tackles in a 2017 season in which he helped lead his school to a NYSPHSSA football Class AA Championship game appearance. He committed to Division 1 FCS Bryant out of high school, recording 256 total tackles, 37.5 tackles for loss, and 15 pass deflections throughout parts of five seasons.

He transferred home to UB for his sixth and final season of collegiate eligibility, starting 12 games for the Bulls and leading the team in both tackles (90) and tackles for loss (12). He tried out for his boyhood NFL club at their May rookie minicamp and made an impact on the Bills brass, signing as an undrafted free agent after the conclusion of the camp; this set the stage for a breakout preseason in which he totaled 24 tackles, particularly sticking out in a Week 2 spot start against the Pittsburgh Steelers in he tallied a team-high 12 tackles. He was all over the field in the win, making a number of impressive open-field tackles and generally looking as though he belonged when (surprisingly) lined up alongside and against starting-caliber NFL players.

Andreessen’s spot on the 53-man roster, though reportedly a reality at the moment, may waver in the coming weeks as teams around the league adjust their own rosters and Buffalo reacts in kind. That said, nobody expected Andreessen to make it this far; how far his journey will go at this juncture is anyone’s guess.

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