ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Depew native and undrafted rookie free agent Joe Andreessen has taken Bills mafia by storm after his breakout performance in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
“I thought Joe did a phenomenal job," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. "What a story for Buffalo and for all of the young football players in Buffalo. They get a chance to look up to this young man who’s playing for the Buffalo Bills, his hometown team, and what an awesome story for you guys, for the community.”
The Lancaster high school grad and University at Buffalo product got the nod for the starting job at middle linebacker with Terrel Bernard sidelined in the team’s second preseason game.
“We named him the starter, it was ‘hey, we’ll see what he can do,’ and it wasn't too big for him," McDermott said. "He went out there and made plays and very impressed with what he did.”
Andreessen then used that opportunity to lead the Bill's defense with 12 total tackles on the night.
“He's worked extremely hard," McDermott said. "I know how hard he works in the summer and what football means to him and he's just a phenomenal young man off the field and he's done a tremendous job on the field.”
“Sometimes you just can't teach instincts," McDermott added. "I know everyone wants height, weight, and speed and all that type of stuff but dang it man, if it isn't a football player at the end of the day, is what we're looking at, we’re not looking at track athletes here. We’re looking at football players and he's a football player and I love it.”
Now with the news that the starters will be out for the entirety of the final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, it’ll be another chance for the hometown kid to prove his worth on this Bills roster.
“We’re looking forward to him getting another shot this weekend and this time at home and maybe in front of a few more fans for him," McDermott said. "It's a great story and we're super proud of Joe.”
The Bills get back to practice this week ahead of Saturday's preseason finale at Highmark Stadium against the Carolina Panthers at 1 p.m.