For the better part of the first week of free agency, the Buffalo Bills and general manager Brandon Beane felt extremely confident in the group brought in. Their belief was such that the newcomers could finally get Buffalo over the AFC Playoff hump.
Things have taken a turn for the worse, though, at this point.
Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane announced Thursday evening that recently signed defensive linemen Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht were both suspended for six games for violating the league's policy on PED usage.
Both Ogunjobi and Hoecht signed contracts with the Bills this past week with Hoecht being the only one signing a long-term deal (three years) of the two players.
"It's not ideal to have two guys with that, but both guys have never had any issues off the field. It's a tough lesson of where do you get your supplements or whatever happened," Beane said. "We'll embrace those guys and if they were guys that this had happened before, we probably would have avoided them."
A big weakness that Buffalo was looking to fix this past offseason was their defensive line usage. The Bills were 18th in the league in sacks recorded last season and 19th in rushing yards per attempt.
Related: Bills' Josh Allen's Fiance Hailee Steinfeld Announces 'Digital Detox'
Both Hoecht and Ogunjobi were expected to help that problem.
While the two free agents will be able to workout with the team during OTAs and training camp, they will be suspended for the first six games of the 2024 season. Neither player is expected to appeal the ruling.
And it leaves Buffalo being accused of being caught off-guard at this point in the offseason.
Related: Amari Cooper vs. Joshua Palmer Triggers Bills 'Route Technician' Debate
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 1:36 PM.