Buffalo Rumblings
With Dorian Williams out due to a knee injury and Matt Milano continuing to work through a pectoral injury, Jimmy Ciarlo is getting the chance of a lifetime. On Saturday afternoon, the Buffalo Bills announced that they were signing the linebacker to their active roster before their Week 5 game with the New England Patriots.
Ciarlo isn’t technically a rookie, but the 24 year old has never been on an NFL active roster. His professional career story started last summer where he was an undrafted rookie with the New York Jets, however he suffered a torn ACL in the preseason opener. After a year’s recovery, Ciarlo found himself trying out with the Bills in August. The tryout stuck and the linebacker was finally getting his chance at the NFL.
HBO’s Hard Knocks brought attention to Ciarlo’s story, and he quickly became a fan favorite with Bills Mafia. He wasn’t just a favorite with the Buffalo faithful; he made an impression on Buffalo’s coaching staff as well.
Pro Football Focus listed Ciarlo as playing 80 defensive snaps while recording 11 tackles and a fumble recovery during the Bills’ 2025 preseason. The New Jersey native allowed seven catches for a total of 49 yards this summer. The linebacker also logged 43 snaps on special teams this summer.
“It’s been a blast, I’ve had a ton of fun,” Ciarlo told reporters as Buffalo’s preseason wrapped up that he understood just how lucky he was to get a second shot at the NFL. “I was just telling some of the guys in the locker room after the game down at Tampa that this has been the most fun I’ve had playing football in my whole life. Just these past three weeks, it’s been a blast.”
While none of it was enough to unseat Milano, Williams, or “Buffalo Joe” Andreessen, it was enough to be brought back to the Bills’ practice squad. And that’s where Ciarlo has sat ever since – until Saturday afternoon.
The move to sign Ciarlo to the active roster prompts a list of questions: Is Williams headed to Injured Reserve (IR)? Are the Bills worried about Milano’s injury history? Is this just a way to bring three practice squad players to the game this week and we will see Ciarlo “released” and then signed back to the practice squad next week?
The Bills placed cornerback Dorian Strong on IR after the rookie cornerback was listed with a neck injury midweek, which created an open roster spot that the Bills filled with Ciarlo. With Williams’ knee injury putting him out for Week 5 and Milano still being listed as questionable with a pectoral injury he’s been managing since halftime of the Bills’ Week 2 win over the New York Jets, the linebacker who has been having “the most fun he’s ever had playing football” may get his chance to see how much fun a regular-season game can be.
