The Buffalo Bills haven’t shied away from bringing small-school players into the fold of late. They really haven’t been shy about looking 30 minutes up the Thruway by scouting and signing players from The University at Buffalo. Whether we’re talking about Cam Lewis, Ja’Marcus Ingram, or Tyree Jackson, the Bills have had plenty of representation from UB of late.
There’s another player that we left out of that grouping, and that’s because he’s the subject of today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days.”
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Name: Joe Andreessen
Number: 44
Position: ILB
Height/Weight: 6’1”, 240 pounds
Age: 26 (27 on 2/7/2027)
Experience/Draft: 3; signed with Bills following the 2024 NFL Draft
College: University at Buffalo
Acquired: UDFA signing
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Andreessen enters the third and final year of his rookie deal, which is worth $2,832,500 overall. For the 2026 season he carries a cap hit of $1,075,834 if he makes the 53-man roster. Buffalo would carry a dead-cap charge of $834 if they were to release him.
2025 Recap: Andreessen continued living out his dream of playing for his childhood favorite team, making Buffalo’s 53-man roster once again. He played in all 17 regular-season games, starting two, amassing 35 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits.
Although he played in more games overall, he actually totaled fewer snaps on defense last season, as his defensive snap total fell from 114 as a rookie to just 96 last season. However, he became an indispensible part of the Bills’ special teams unit, playing on 341 snaps in that phase. That was more than anyone on the Bills’ roster.
Andreessen was credited with 23 tackles on special teams, which was tops among Bills players and second only to a former Bills player — Del’Shawn Phillips, who had 24 special teams tackles — in the entire NFL. Andreessen also had two tackles in the postseason, both of which came on special teams.
Positional outlook: Andreessen is one of seven players listed at inside linebacker on the current roster. Terrel Bernard, Jimmy Ciarlo, Dorian Williams, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Theron Gaines, and Keonta Jenkins are the others. Another linebacker, rookie Kalen Elarms-Orr, is listed merely at linebacker, but he is expected to play inside linebacker.
2026 Offseason: Andreessen is healthy and competing for time on defense during offseason workouts.
2026 Season outlook: Andreessen is far beyond a cute story at this point, as he is legitimately one of the best special teams players in the NFL. He is a far more dynamic athlete than many people realize, as he is fast (4.64-second 40-yard dash, 4.22-second 20-yard shuttle), strong (32 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press), and explosive (38” vertical and 10’2” broad jump). His Relative Athletic Score, or RAS, was a 9.35 based on his Pro Day results. In short, Andreessen is a dynamic athlete, not just some local kid living out a dream.
Could a move to a more attack-oriented defense help him to earn more time on the field? It absolutely can. However, he still needs to be better in coverage, because he was a liability in his limited snaps in that phase of the game over the last two seasons.
I assume that the Bills will slate Terrel Bernard in as one of the starters at inside linebacker, but Andreessen will have a shot to join him if he can beat out Dorian Williams and Kaleb Elarms-Orr. Given that we really have no idea how new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard will deploy his linebackers, there’s also a chance that Andreessen might see time on defense in unique packages and situations, as well.
At worst, Andreessen is set to reprise his role as a demon on special teams. At best, a shift in scheme allows him to unlock the best version of himself, parlaying his elite athleticism into at least a two-down tackling machine.
Either way, there’s little to no chance that the 53-man roster doesn’t include “Buffalo Joe” this season. He’s as close to a lock as there is for someone who isn’t a shoo-in for a starting role this season.
