Bills cut ties with Hard Knocks fan favorite

When the Buffalo Bills were featured on Hard Knocks over the summer, the documentary show focused in on a few of the fringe players and developed them into main characters.

One of those guys was Jimmy Ciarlo.

Ciarlo didn't make the 53-man roster as a linebacker, but he did get onto the practice squad.

On Tuesday, though, the Bills released Ciarlo from the practice squad.

The Bills have terminated the contracts of practice squad LB Jimmy Ciarlo and WR Kristian Wilkerson. Expect some new additions to the PS tomorrow.

MORE: Travis Hunter's injury leads to Jakobi Meyers trade

The bottom of practice squads often features movement like this, but it's still a bummer for Ciarlo.

Ciarlo is a linebacker out of Army, a player that the show displayed coaches referring to as either "Army" or "West Point," an undrafted dreamer just trying to make an NFL roster.

He was hurt in the preseason in 2024 with the Jets, and this summer was his next chance to prove he belonged.

Making the practice squad was a win for Ciarlo, but now he's lost that.

As an undrafted player coming off an injury, it would've taken a transcendent summer for Ciarlo to do better than the practice squad in the first place.

Ciarlo showed up nicely on special teams and also got some linebacker reps, but mostly late in preseason games with other players who were also unlikely to make the roster.

Buffalo could choose to bring Ciarlo back to the practice squad soon or down the road, or he could seek an equivalent contract in another organization.

For now, Ciarlo will have to figure out what the next step in his football journey will be.

More NFL news:

• Commanders have to answer why Jayden Daniels was in the game at all
• Is this RG3 all over again?
• Patrick Mahomes called for bizarre intentional grounding
• Eagles' 2-time Super Bowl champion retires after short AFC stint
• Did the Colt make a big QB mistake at the trade deadline?
• Eagles reveal why they didn't trade A.J. Brown