The Buffalo Bills have a lot of excitement surrounding them as they enter the 2025 campaign. After coming up just short of reaching the Super Bowl again last year, the Bills have loaded up for the new season with the belief that this is the year they can prevail in the AFC and find their way to the Big Game.
Beyond that, Buffalo has received more attention ahead of the start of the season thanks to “Hard Knocks.” The show has taken a behind-the-scenes look at the Bills’ preparation for the new campaign, and it has been a hit among fans. Ahead of the upcoming episode, a quick clip of linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo emerged that has quickly gone viral on social media.
Jimmy Ciarlo’s Strong Reaction to Making the Bills’ Practice Squad
A former star linebacker for the Army Black Knights, Ciarlo didn’t get selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he latched on with the New York Jets and was given a shot to earn a spot on their team. However, he ended up tearing his ACL in his preseason debut, resulting in him missing the entire year.
In May, the Jets released Ciarlo, and he didn’t find a home until the Bills came calling in August. Even though he had a late start, Ciarlo quickly managed to stand out in the Bills’ linebacker room. However, he ultimately didn’t end up making the team’s initial 53-man roster, as he was among the players released in Buffalo’s roster cuts.
That wasn’t the end of his story with the Bills, though, as they quickly looped back around to him and signed him to their practice squad. It was a big win for Ciarlo after a trying start to his NFL career, and he ended up sharing an emotional conversation with his dad on “Hard Knocks,” which was shared in a teaser for the upcoming episode.
“Phase one was get yourself noticed, go out there, make some plays,” Ciarlo’s dad, Jim Ciarlo, said. “Phase two, make that practice squad. Now, we gotta move onto phase three, find a way to help that football team on Sundays … I told you, you’re giving everything you’ve got, and leave everything on the field, good things will happen. And you left it all on the field.”
Bills Looking to Put Everything Together in 2025
GettyBills quarterback Josh Allen at Raymond James Stadium on August 23, 2025.
Ciarlo likely won’t factor into the Bills’ 2025 plans, as the team will primarily be working on developing him behind the scenes. At just 24 years old, though, Ciarlo still has time to reach his full potential, and if the linebacker position ends up getting hit by injuries, he could end up being called up to the active roster at some point during the season.
For now, Buffalo’s primary goal is to win it all this season, and as long as they have the reigning MVP, Josh Allen, under center, they will have a shot to win every time they take the field. The Bills will open the 2025 campaign in Week 1 on Sunday Night Football with a matchup against another top contender in the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bills LB & West Point Grad Jimmy Ciarlo Shares Special Moment With Dad on ‘Hard Knocks’ appeared first on Heavy Sports.