The Buffalo Bills were considered one of the top winners of the first week of free agency for their work in acquiring quality players on both sides of the ball.
General manager Brandon Beane has his work cut out for him now.
The long-time executive announced Thursday night that both Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi - defensive linemen signed in the first few days of the free agency period - will be suspended for the first six games of the 2025 season for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs.
Buffalo was 18th in the league in sacks recorded last season and 19th in the league in rushing yards per attempt allowed. Defensive line was a major need for the organization heading into the 2025 offseason.
Now, with this debacle - both players suspended for the first third of the year - it will continue to be.
And that makes this the No. 1 embarrassment in this NFL free agency cycle.
"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."
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Buffalo was able to sign Joey Bosa to a free agent contract and the 2025 class is expected to be full of top talent along the position group as well.
Solutions are there if Buffalo wants and needs them.
But it isn't a good look to have two players signed instantly be told they can't help the roster moving forward.
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This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM.