By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
It hasn’t been the best of weeks for Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane.
Since he arrived in Orchard Park from Carolina in 2018, other than his first-ever draft pick, the inspired first-round selection of current NFL MVP Josh Allen, his reputation as a drafter has been dubious, at best.
But, that tended to be offset by his wisdom as a signer of unrestricted free agents.
Alas, that ended this past week.
Beane signed not one but two defensive linemen — end Michael Hoecht (pronounced Hoyt) late of the Rams and tackle Larry Ogunjobi, most recently with the Steelers — facing six-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
That means they will have to stay away from the team facility for a month, then can join their respective teams for practice the last two weeks before being allowed to play in Week 7.
Reportedly, the Bills knew about Hoecht’s positive test before signing him to a 3-year, $24 million contract.
However, Ogunjobi, the Steelers’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee last season, literally didn’t find out about his pending suspension until the day he signed a one-year $8 million contract with Buffalo.
An embarrassed Beane admitted, “It’s not ideal to have two guys with (suspensions).”
Ya think?
He added, “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.”
What makes the situation galling is that, with veteran end Von Miller released, the Bills have only four edge rushers — Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa, Javon Solomon and Joey Bosa (more on him in a moment) under contract.
At tackle, with Quinton Jefferson, Austin Johnson and Jordan Phillips free agents, Buffalo has only DaQuan Jones, Ed Oliver, Dewayne Carter and Ogunjobi currently signed.
Small wonder defensive line was one of Buffalo’s major needs.
HOECHT, 27, said he got the testosterone from a long-time trainer and admitted, “It was a mistake. It was careless. I shouldn’t have trusted. And it’s ultimately my responsibility.
“(Learning about the positive test) was the lowest point of my entire life. It’s something I’m gonna have to own, something I’m gonna come up on the better side of and use it as motivation.”
Ogunjobi, 30, had no history of testing positive despite eight years in the league.
“It was a situation where I don’t really know what it was,” he said. “I think it was a tainted supplement that I took. But I understand the league, we have an obligation to understand what we put in our body, and I take full responsibility for that. But I’ll be more excited to get on that field and support my team and this organization when my suspension is lifted.”
Beane admitted the Bills would have passed on signing Ogunjobi, who played four seasons in Cleveland, one in Cincinnati and three in Pittsburgh, had they known about the positive test.
SIGNING the 29-year-old Bosa is a risk but not to the extent of adding Miller after he was released by Denver just short of his 33rd birthday.
As with Bosa’s brother Nick, he’s one of the NFL’s elite pass rushers, but the last three seasons he’s been undermined by injury.
After recording 58 sacks in his first six seasons, Joey has had 14 over the last three as he played in 28 games and missed 22.
Should he regain his form, Beane got a steal, but if he suffers a devastating injury, such as the one that seemingly ended Miller’s career, the mistake will be obvious.
Signing two suspended defensive linemen, as humiliating as it is, it would only be worse should it become a trifecta for a GM who has been at his best in free agency.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net)
