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Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Joe Andreessen ran back to the sideline after the coin toss at the 50-yard line in Highmark Stadium and started having second thoughts.
The rookie linebacker had just declared that the Buffalo Bills would like to start the game with the ball vs. the New York Jets in Week 17.
In his head, Andreessen went through the moment that just took place. “Did I mess it up? Like he wanted me to take the ball, I heard that right?” he questioned to himself.
His doubts were only reinforced by Jets game captain and punter Thomas Morstead expressing surprise at the decision, “‘Oh, they took it?'” Andreessen later recalled him saying.
The decision was atypical. Bills coach Sean McDermott usually likes his teams to defer when they win the coin toss, allowing them to get the ball coming out of halftime. But because the weather was expected to take a turn during the second half, McDermott communicated to Andreessen that he wanted to start with the ball. Special teams coach Matthew Smiley told Andreessen that made the moment “historical.”
Andreessen’s call was indeed correct.
McDermott informed Andreessen at practice earlier that week that he’d be the speaking captain, representing special teams — the second rookie all season to have the honor (safety Cole Bishop the other).
“It was the body of work during the season,” Smiley said of giving Joe the job. “Stay plugged in, keep getting better, great energy, great, obviously, performance on the field, but great questions in the meeting room … It’s hard for rookies, this is a long season and for him, just every week it’s a little better, a little better, a little better. So, yeah, he was very deserving and we were all excited that he got to do it.”
Andreessen has seen more than his fair share of coin tosses at that stadium. This just happened to be from a new point of view. A Western New York native — specifically from Depew, N.Y. — Andreessen grew up a Bills fan and worked his way onto the roster after a tryout during rookie minicamp in May.
In the game vs. the Jets, Andreessen wore a jersey with his own name and number, 44, on the back. No longer, as he had as a fan in the stands, donning a Kiko Alonso or Marshawn Lynch or even current teammate Matt Milano jersey — of which he has multiple. The bleachers were filled with the people he grew up alongside. Now they were watching — and cheering for — him.
Andreessen is the feel-good story of the season for the Bills: a local kid who worked his way from Bryant University to University at Buffalo, before going undrafted only to earn his way onto the professional football team he grew up watching. He is living the dream of so many as the Bills prepare to host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday (6:30 p.m. EST, CBS) in the divisional round. Andreessen, a consistent special teams player for the Bills, has the opportunity to help his hometown team reach its long-awaited goal of winning the Super Bowl.
PAUL AND JODY Andreessen were high school sweethearts. The pair met at Lancaster High School, the same high school their sons, J.D. and Joe, attended and played sports.
The Andreessen household prioritized athletics and big brother J.D. never let Joe win when the two competed.
“That’s probably why he’d be getting so pissed off,” J.D. Andreessen said. “But I don’t think that he would ever really want me to let him win and then I think maybe kicking his a– early, kind of brought out the super competitor of him and how bad he always wanted to beat me in certain things.”
While J.D. went on to play Division I baseball, Joe followed his own path to football.
Andreesen played football through high school, then went on to Bryant, where he played five seasons at linebacker for the Division I FCS program. Thanks to NCAA regulations giving student athletes an additional season of eligibility as a result of COVID-19, Andreesen was able to play one more year as a graduate student at the University at Buffalo.
Andreessen, 6-foot-1, 232 lbs, started all 12 games for Buffalo in 2023 and led the team in tackles (90, including a team-high 12 tackles for loss). When NFL draft season came around last year, his agent, Shane Costa was optimistic that Andreessen could sign with a team as an undrafted free agent. That didn’t happen, but the feedback from visiting the Bills on the team’s local pro day before the draft was positive.
There was frustration for Andreessen after the draft. He had heard from others that it was hard to make even a 90-man roster from a rookie minicamp tryout.
“I was kind of, I don’t want to say down in the dumps, I’m so grateful for the opportunity, but I was upset with it,” Andreessen said.
Teams hold rookie minicamps on one of two weekends following the NFL draft. The camps serve as an opportunity for undrafted players to try out. About 15 teams offered Andreessen a try out at their rookie minicamp. Costa decided the best plan for Andreessen was to attend the Kansas City Chiefs tryouts and then the Bills. The Chiefs’ minicamp was the weekend before, but Kansas City didn’t offer him a contract.
“Obviously, we didn’t really want him to go [to the rival Chiefs],” J.D. said. “Super excited for him to get the opportunity and no matter where he was going, we would be a supporter of him, but that would’ve hurt.”
Andreessen wanted to be on a team either way.
“I felt like I did good [in Kansas City], but they weren’t really looking for linebackers.” Andreessen said.
The following weekend, Andreessen went to the Bills rookie minicamp, and the rest is Western New York history.
“I knew about halfway through the weekend that things were looking really good, because the feedback was positive,” Andreesen’s girlfriend Fabi Castro said. “… He had gotten to know everyone really well and was starting to pick the playbook up and getting to know the defense and they were excited to have him on. And from there I knew it was all going to work out the way that it should just because again, if there’s anybody that’s going to take advantage of an opportunity like that, it’s Joe.”
“I felt the vibe was a little different when I was [in Buffalo],” Andreesen said. “They were asking me personally a little bit more questions. They were a little more interested.”
Jody, Paul and J.D. got the call from his agent — the Bills wanted to surprise Andreessen at the facility with his family to sign his first contract. The three of them weren’t sure what time to get to the facility, so they ended up being 45 minutes early.
They went to a nearby bar, Danny’s South, down the block from the Bills’ facility — the same place they went with a large group of friends and family ahead of the Bills’ wild-card win vs. the Denver Broncos — and had a drink to celebrate Joe’s accomplishment.
The family then met Joe in the team facility’s cafeteria. He acknowledged them, and while the family expressed their excitement, Andreessen’s mind was on food — he was starving after not eating all day.
“He’s all business,” Jody said. After he ate, the Andreesens then met general manager Brandon Beane and watched Joe sign his first professional contract.
SOME OF HIS teammates just call him “Buffalo.” If you say “Buffalo Joe” anywhere around the Buffalo area — a city of just under 275,000, most know who you are talking about.
“It’s really awesome because you see a lot of his jerseys out there in the stands too. It’s incredible just because the way he is, how he approaches it and how he’s such a sponge about everything,” defensive end A.J. Epenesa, whose locker is next to Andreessen’s, said. “… We have so many guys in here that work so hard and are so process-driven and he’s one of those guys and it’s very rare and it’s just really fun to see, and he’s so excited all the time and so happy all the time and he’s genuine.”
Andreessen got a significant opportunity when linebacker Milano tore his biceps on Aug. 13 ahead of a joint practice and preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The linebacker room — already riddled with injuries, needed someone to step up. They decided to be cautious and hold starter Terrel Bernard out after Milano’s injury. Andreessen got the call up to start the second preseason game, putting up a performance that turned heads. He finished the game with 12 tackles, including two for loss.
“Joe’s a hell of a football player,” Milano told ESPN. “He’d be a pro football player anywhere, so it’s cool to have him in the room.”
Jody took a moment during the preseason game, realizing what was happening, and cried. She called his girlfriend, Castro, in the midst of her tears, and she was crying, too.
“One of the things in preseason is who are they going against? Is it 3s vs. 3s, 3s vs. 2s, 2s vs. 1s?” Beane said. “… Nothing else is going to tell us more than putting him with the 1s. And first of all, it didn’t faze him. I’m sure he was nervous and had adrenaline pumping, but it didn’t faze him.
“… He really passed the test that day, and that probably gave us a lot of confidence that this guy is trending up and deserves this opportunity.”
The game played a significant role in him making the initial 53-man roster. Beane noted Andreesen did “everything you could have asked for.” In his special teams work, Smiley noted that there wasn’t a spot in training camp on special teams where he struggled.
And how did Andreessen celebrate his making the team? A visit to Buffalo’s Famous Dave and Adam’s Card World.
“That’s what he said he would do if he made the team, and that’s what we did,” Jody Andreessen said.
The 24-year-old is an avid baseball card collector. Jody, Paul and J.D. accompanied Joe as he bought a 2023 Bowman Draft Baseball box, ripping open the packs, “looking for the big card,” as Paul described it. What made it special was the box — around $900 — happened to have a card of Tom Brady playing baseball for the Montreal Expos, the No. 1 “chase” card.
As Brady defied expectations, Andreessen was just taking the first step of going against his own odds.
ANDREESEN HAS DEVELOPED into far more than a good story. He’s now a consistent special teams player, tied for the team lead in special teams tackles.
“When he [had opportunities to play] he made a point where I’mma go out here and make some plays, so I can always stay [on the active gameday roster],” said Cam Lewis, a fifth-year defensive back, who also plays special teams and went to the University at Buffalo. “… We ask a lot from him, especially on the [special] teams aspect, just because it’s a key part of our game and trying to win games. So I feel like he’s done a really, really, really, really good job. Better than I probably would’ve done my rookie year.”
Andreesen is a backup linebacker and got his first NFL start at the position in Week 18 when the Bills sat most of the starters. Playing alongside the people he cheered for has become routine, but there are still “pinch me” moments.
In Week 2, Bills at Miami Dolphins, former Bills’ safety Jordan Poyer was saying hello to his previous teammates. He made a point of saying hello to Andreesen.
“Poyer [dapped] me up and he said, ‘Hey man, big fan of yours. Keep going,'” Andreesen said. “So that was definitely cool. I’m in the locker room with a bunch of big names here, but they’re on my team.”
Andreessen has played in 13 games this year, spending time in the meeting room with Milano, the player he grew up wanting to emulate. On game days, Adreessen is on the field warming up instead of tailgating as he did in high school and college.
At the tailgates that fill the streets around Abbott and Big Tree Road outside of Highmark Stadium, you can witness scores of 44 jerseys — a rarity for a special teams player — over the many, many layers of clothing often needed to survive a Sunday.
Andreesen is likely to be recognized when he goes out. His family, too. The trainer he’s worked with since tearing the PCL in his right knee four years ago, John Opfer, is in the area. Andreesen lives with his parents but plans to move out and live with Castro after this season. Jody is in charge of Joe’s laundry, while Paul cooks him dinner.
“We’re able to support him in a number of ways, and he gets to, kind of, come home and keep working, because his work doesn’t end when he leaves the facility,” Jody said. “There’s a lot more to do and he’s always doing extra. So, I think [we] can relieve that burden that maybe you have if you’re on your own for him, and we’re happy to do it.”
The Buffalo fan experience is one of a kind, as documented over the years, setting up in the early hours of the morning or days in advance of games. The Western New York community is one that revolves around its football team. So, one of its own making the Bills’ roster? That’s something special.
Andreessen has a close relationship with one of his teachers from Lancaster High School, Matt McCoy, and after McCoy attended a win in Indianapolis, Andreessen surprised him during the bye week with his game-worn jersey in a frame.
When McCoy’s students come back from holiday break, they play a game. Did you get a “touchdown” present or a “toilet bowl” present? Many students listed Buffalo Joe jerseys as their touchdown. McCoy already owned one, as his wife bought the whole family, including their three sons, jerseys as soon as Andreessen made the team. Even the shot clock operator for the Lancaster High basketball team can be seen wearing a No. 44 jersey on a typical Saturday.
“I don’t know if he knows what an example he’s been,” McCoy said. “And I can speak personally of my own boys saying, ‘Dad, you always told us that there’s no substitute for hard work. Look at Joe,’ and that’s what he’s meant to this community and to this school.”
The Buffalo community is hoping this could be the year for Andreessen and the Bills, or as Paul put it, “It’s like bowl or bust, and that would be the most surreal thing ever for our Joe to be a part of that.” His role on the team he grew up loving has been earned.
“You’re never sure where it’s going to go [from a minicamp tryout]. And so in Joe’s case, look what it’s led to,” coach Sean McDermott said. “And I think some people thought early on it was a nice PR thing, right? And that’s certainly been cool, I would say, for Joe, for our team, for the city. I mean, you hear it. When he makes a tackle the other day in the game, the crowd loves it, right?
“But Joe’s earned every last piece of it.”