'Fearless' Joe Andreessen impresses Bills' teammates on both sides of ball

Undrafted rookie LB Joe Andreessen garnered praise from his Buffalo Bills' teammates after an impressive display in Pittsburgh.

Ralph Ventre | Aug 19, 2024

Bills linebacker Joe Andreessen signs autographs for fans following practice. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Buffalo Bills' undrafted rookie linebacker Joe Andreessen has been remarkably unfazed since making an unexpected leap up to the professional ranks with his hometown team.

The native Western New Yorker, who was highly successful as a collegian albeit at the small-school level, earned a contract as a tryout player at rookie minicamp in May. Andreessen did enough during OTAs to prove he belonged and deserved the chance to compete in training camp.

His steady progress falls in line with the "growth mindset" that head coach Sean McDermott preaches, and the Lancaster High School alumnus has seemingly seized every opportunity along the way. It reached its zenith on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bills held linebacker Terrel Bernard out as a precaution, allowing Andreessen the start at Acrisure Stadium. More importantly, Andreessen had to serve as the "green dot" communicator responsible for sharing the pre-snap calls with his defensive teammates.

"He's that guy. You couldn't sense any fear with Joe. Stepped up to the plate, called it [the defense cues] with the 1s," said starting defensive end Greg Rousseau, who made 2.5 sacks in the win. "It was great seeing him fly around here, making open-field tackles and doing his thing."

Shouldering the lid without difficulty, Andreessen recorded a game-high 12 tackles, including two drive-ending stops. Five of his hits limited that opponent to three yards or fewer.

Fellow rookie Ray Davis, a fourth-round running back, mentioned Andreessen, unsolicited, while addressing reporters at his locker after the Bills' 9-3 exhibition victory.

"Then, you gotta give a shoutout to Joe," said Davis. "Joe has been through, again, to come in and try out and make it and just prove everybody each and every day. It's like being a walk-on in college. You gotta go out there and you gotta prove everybody wrong. That's what Joe did today. He stepped up and had a good one."

It all adds to an amazing story about a seemingly unflappable underdog. Look out, Joe Burrow. There's another Joe Cool establishing himself in the AFC.

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