Tag: AJ Klein

ESPN’s Louis Riddick gets heated explaining how huge Bills injury issues are (video)

Loud noises:

ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick got into a heated discussion with some of his co-workers at the former world-wide leader.

During a roundtable on the network’s morning program Get Up, the conversation surrounded the Bills… and of course, the topic was how much is their loss to the Chiefs is on quarterback Josh Allen.

Riddick adamantly did not agree with the idea. Instead, he pointed out what many are looking at in western New York, an insane amount of injuries sustained by the Bills .

The one Riddick noted in particular was the one sustained by Terrel Bernard (ankle) which forced AJ Klein into a starting spot. Klein has plenty of experience, but even he will agree how crazy it had been for him in recent weeks. Klein was planning a vacation and a few days later he was playing meaningful snaps for the Bills.

Riddick on Get Up can be found in the clip below:

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What we learned from the Bills’ win over the Steelers

What we learned from the #Bills’ win over the #Steelers:

The Buffalo Bills began the postseason with a Wild Card matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bills managed to pull off a 31-17 win and will move on to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional round. 

During the win that was, we were taught a few things about this football team.

Here are five things we learned about the Bills following their playoff win against the Steelers:

A.J. Klein canceled Key West vacation to rejoin Bills ahead of wild-card game vs. Steelers

And then he played important snaps, too:

“Whirlwind” does not even sum up the past week for Buffalo Bills linebacker A.J. Klein.

Klein, 32, had been on and off the Bills’ roster and practice squad throughout the 2023 season. As the postseason approached, he was off of both.

That called for some vacationing — until he ended up playing meaningful snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Buffalo’s 31-17 wild-card win over the Steelers included 44 snaps on defense for Klein after injuries to Tyrel Dodson (shoulder) and then Terrel Bernard (ankle) during the contest. That came after Klein signed with the Bills’ practice squad once again last week.

Considering that he was packed and ready to go on vacation, he played pretty well when thrust into the spotlight.

“We already had stuff booked down in Key West,” Klein said. “I had bought an RV in the offseason and we were loading up our truck, doing some work on our RV and we were looking to go down to Key West and get down in the sunshine a bit.”

That idea went completely in the opposite direction. Even Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott had to laugh about the turnaround Klein had.

“We stopped him, I think, just short of Wally World,” McDermott said via video conference. “He came back and he put the uniform on and had to go out there and play. I think that’s pretty special right there. So I applaud A.J. for that.”

For more from Klein on his adventure, see the attached 13WHAM-TV clip below:

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Report card: Bills top Steelers, 31-17

Report card: #Bills top #Steelers, 31-17:

The Buffalo Bills have worked their way through the Pittsburgh Steelers and are now onto the Divisional round of the AFC postseason.

Buffalo put together an effort that was strong throughout the contest. But not all three phases. While not a team that has covered the spread often this season, Pittsburgh was behind it throughout most of the game because of a strong effort up-and-down the Bills roster.

With that, here’s Bills Wire’s report card following the team’s 31-17 Wild Card win:

Bills bring AJ Klein back to practice squad ahead of Steelers matchup

#Bills bring AJ Klein back to practice squad ahead of #Steelers matchup:

The Buffalo Bills have signed linebacker AJ Klein to their practice squad ahead of facing the Miami Dolphins in the NFL’s Wild-Card round.

Klein was previously with the Bills (11-6) earlier this season, spending time on both the 53-man roster and practice squad.

In a corresponding move, Buffalo released defensive tackle Eli Ankou from the taxi unit.

Klein being brought back has added some question into the status of another player: Linebacker Tyrel Dodson. Listed on the injury report this week due to a shoulder injury he sustained in Week 18 against the Miami Dolphins, is Klein’s addition indicative of Dodson potentially not playing? Or just a precaution?

If Buffalo decided to call Klein or another linebacker up from their practice squad on Saturday prior to Sunday’s Steelers matchup, that would mean Dodson is likely not playing.

Bills Wire will provide updates as information is made available.

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NFL Next Gen Stats: Bills’ pass-rush defense sorely missing Matt Milano

NFL Next Gen Stats: #Bills’ pass-rush defense sorely missing Matt Milano:

The Buffalo Bills have been hit with the injury bug hard during the past couple weeks of the 2023 NFL season. The defensive side of the ball has seen key injuries across several starting positions.

Earlier this month, former All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White was placed on injured reserve and four days later, starting linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones joined White on the IR list.

Of the trio, Milano’s loss being felt the most according to NFL Next Gen Stats. According to the football analytics out, Buffalo’s pass rush is lacking without the linebacker.

Since Milano’s knee injury in Week 5, the Bills defense has been unable to defend the middle of the park. Not only has Buffalo stopped generating turnovers, but they are providing offenses ample time to find their open receivers to score touchdowns and performing at a league-worst rate:

Bills head coach Sean McDermott has his work cut out for him after taking over the defensive coordinator duties this season.

Rookie linebacker Dorian Williams is being given an opportunity to fill Milano’s shoes but it has not gone well. In two of three games, he’s been pulled for Tyrel Dodson.

If the first-year pro gets another shot, the is hope that Williams can make the jump up to a high-caliber level on Thursday against a strong, newly revamped Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) offensive line.

He’ll have his work cut out for him.

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Buffalo Bills sign AJ Klein, Andrew Brown

#Bills sign AJ Klein, Andrew Brown to 53-man roster:

A few spaces opened up on the Buffalo Bills roster and they were quickly filled.

The team announced that linebacker Matt Milano (knee/leg) and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (pectoral) have been placed on injured reserve. Joining the Bills will be linebacker AJ Klein and defensive tackle Andrew Brown.

Klein, 32, has had multiple stints between the Bills roster and practice squad. Most recently, he was on the PS and has now been added to the roster to fill a need without Milano.

Klein was in Buffalo last season and re-signed via a one-year deal this. He has started in 82 games and played in 144 throughout his 11-year career.

Brown, 27, is new. He was a fifth-round choice of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018 out of Virginia and has played in 28 career games. He most recently was with the Los Angeles Chargers. Brown has 19 tackles and one sack in his career.

Ironically enough, he was selected with a draft pick originally owned by the Bills. It was sent to Cincy in the 2018 trade centering around Buffalo offensive lineman Cordy Glenn.

The Bills hosted Brown on a free-agent visit this week prior to signing him. Brown has signed to the practice squad.

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Bills’ Christian Kirksey retires from NFL

Kirksey out and Klein in:

Christian Kirksey’s career with the Buffalo Bills will go down as uneventful.

On Thursday, the team has announced that Kirksey has decided to retire from the NFL.

Following roster cuts at the end of training camp, Kirksey signed to Buffalo’s practice squad. At the time, the Bills did not have a very clear answer at linebacker in their quest to replace Tremaine Edmunds and the 31-year-old felt as a potential plug-and-play starter.

Instead, Terrel Bernard has started the first two games of Buffalo’s season after not playing at all in the preseason due to a hamstring injury. Bernard recorded his first-career interception last weekend against the Las Vegas Raiders.

With Kirksey out, AJ Klein has taken his spot on the practice squad. The team announced that Klein has signed in Buffalo once again.

Klein, 32, was with the Bills this summer in training camp but was released at the end of August. He has had multiple stints with the team previously.

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NFL roster cuts: 6 toughest roster decisions for the Bills to make

NFL roster cuts: 6 toughest roster decisions for the #Bills to make:

One of the toughest days around the NFL is roster cut down day.

Sure, teams have 53 roster spots which seems like a lot–But it’s not. Spaces gets very tight, very quickly. It makes some roster decisions very difficult to make.

With that, here are the five toughest cuts the Bills might have to make in 2023 ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline: