Bills Central

NFL analyst highlights Bills UDFA LB’s breakout outing: ‘They’ve got a player here’

NFL Network personality Brian Baldinger was incredibly impressed with linebacker Joe Andreessen's performance in the Buffalo Bills' recent preseason win.

Kyle Silagyi

Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports
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Western New Yorkers love few things more than seeing a person with ties to the region succeed, and it’s, thus, not necessarily surprising that Bills linebacker Joe Andreessen is the talk of the Buffalo faithful at this particular moment.

The Depew, NY native and Lancaster High School alumnus was electric in the team’s recent preseason win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, looking like a heat-seeking missile across the field as he finished the game with a team-leading 12 tackles. The undrafted free agent, who signed with the team after a May tryout, made a number of impressive plays throughout the contest, including several stout open-field tackles against dynamic athletes like running back Jaylen Warren and quarterback Justin Fields.

Andreessen’s extended opportunity was unexpected (he started in place of middle linebacker Terrel Bernard, who was kept out due to general injury concerns at the position), but he made the most of his reps and catapulted himself firmly into the 53-man roster conversation. Current NFL Network personality and former offensive lineman Brian Baldinger broke down his performance in a Twitter clip Sunday morning, reaching an incredibly encouraging conclusion.

Related: Bills HC says it was 'fun to watch' hometown UDFA LB shine in preseason win

“You watch this now and you go, ‘they’ve got a player here,’” Baldinger says in the clip. “I mean, from Lancaster to Bryant College to the University at Buffalo . . . The guy can really play.”

The analyst highlighted several of Andreessen’s standout plays throughout the night, stating in the clip that the 24-year-old displayed “instant recognition of these plays” throughout the entire evening. You can watch his full breakdown here:

Baldinger notes the interesting timing of Andreessen’s breakout; former All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano was announced to be sidelined “indefinitely” earlier this week due to a bicep tear, and Andreessen, in Baldinger's opinion, was the first Bill to propel himself into a new light in the wake of Milano’s ailment.

“Matt Milano gets hurt this week, somebody’s got to step up,” Baldinger said. “They gave the first chance to Andreessen, and boy did he step up last night. The star of the Bills defense.”

While it’s true that Milano’s injury led to Andreessen playing with the first-team in Pittsburgh, it was only tangentially; second-year linebacker Dorian Williams started at weakside linebacker in the veteran’s absence, with Andreessen deployed in the middle in place of Bernard who, again, was held out to prevent any further injuries at the position. It’s difficult to imagine the undrafted defender out of the University at Buffalo supplanting Williams on the depth chart and starting for the Bills at weakside linebacker in Week 1; that said, his outing against the Steelers was immensely impressive. He’ll look to build on his breakout performance in Buffalo’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers next weekend.

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Kyle Silagyi

KYLE SILAGYI

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