ORCHARD PARK — Jimmy Ciarlo knew he was being placed on waivers early Tuesday, while Keonta Jenkins was among the last to know.
They left the facility knowing the Buffalo Bills wanted them to sign to the practice squad if they cleared waivers, meaning they knew a job was likely waiting for them one way or another. Still, the NFL is unpredictable and they had to wait.
Players who are waived or released on final cut-down day still have to turn in their key cards and tablets, even if the team wants them back. Their contracts are terminated and new ones are signed when they are added to the practice squad.
So Ciarlo and Jenkins returned to their hotels and awaited word on whether another team placed a claim. By 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, they had their key cards and tablets back, with new contracts signed.
Both are developmental players, but ones the Bills feel have promising futures. They aren’t prototypical linebackers by NFL standards, but they are in Sean McDermott’s defense.
Considering receiver Tyrell Shavers became the latest in a long list of players to go from the practice squad to the active roster, Ciarlo and Jenkins are on the short list of players who could accomplish the same feat in the future.
“I don’t plan on taking my foot off the gas,” Ciarlo told GNN Sports. “This is really just the start. I plan on keep developing, keep improving and get faster, stronger, playing hard, learn the defense — do everything I can to grow as a player and show that I’m an investment that can pay off.”
Ciarlo and Jenkins ended up in the same place, but took different paths to get there. Ciarlo, of course, was signed less than a week before the preseason opener after Baylon Spector injured his calf again and was waived.
He caught the eye of McDermott by making a special teams tackle and became a ‘Hard Knocks’ darling, while endearing himself to the team with his genuine personality and long hours spent at the facility attempting to learn the scheme to catch up to the rest of the linebackers.
Jenkins had a longer runway, but not a smooth one. He was an undrafted free agent from Virginia Tech, but had the benefit of a rookie minicamp, two voluntary minicamps and a mandatory minicamp to get acclimated before training camp.
Still, Jenkins started training camp competing with six linebackers who were on the team last year, along with Shaq Thompson, who had a decade in the league and familiarity with McDermott and linebackers coach Al Holcomb to his advantage.
Injuries to Terrel Bernard, Spector and Thompson allowed Jenkins more snaps during practice, while leading the team with six tackles against the New York Giants during the preseason opener. But Jenkins suffered a high ankle sprain 19 snaps into the following week against the Chicago Bears, ending his preseason.
Still, Jenkins did enough to impress the Bills during his time. They waived eight players with injury designations during the preseason and he wasn’t one of them, a sign they wanted him to stick around and potentially play in a pinch.
“I’m just really living in the moment,” Jenkins said. “I try not to let the situation overwhelm me, or the crowd overwhelm me, all the circumstances overwhelm me. Just living play by play, living in a play, understanding my keys within that play. And it kind of helped me take my time. Be able to make plays and breathe.”
Before arriving at the Bills, Jenkins was a safety when he was recruited by Virginia Tech. He played two seasons at safety — coached by Pierson Prioleau, who was a Bills safety from 2001-2004 — before moving to STAR, a linebacker, safety and slot cornerback all rolled into one.
Ciarlo was a high school cornerback, converted to safety by Army and again to outside linebacker after one season. And that’s a common tale for linebackers who play for McDermott, dating back to his days with the Panthers.
Thomas Davis played 15 years in the NFL after being an All-American safety at Georgia, Thompson played safety, linebacker and nickelback at Washington, Matt Milano began his career as a safety at Boston College and Dorian Williams and Spector both played safety at times during high school.
Just last season, the Bills attempted to convert former Vikings first-round pick Lewis Cine from safety to linebacker before he was claimed off the practice squad by the Philadelphia Eagles. And when the Bills sustained injuries at nickelback against the Bears, Ciarlo filled in at the position for most of the second half.
“A lot of teams want guys that can move in space, attack in space,” Ciarlo said. “I think that’s something that’s a strength of mine. To see the older guys, vets, year-in and year-out, guys like Matt Milano, showing that they can play at the weight that they do, the size they do … defenses take guys that used to play safety because the attributes are transferable.”
There is a physical component to converting safeties to linebacker — most of the aforementioned players were between 225 and 230 pounds and didn’t have the quickness to play safety in the NFL. But the league has transitioned away from 250-pound run-thumping linebackers in exchange for 225-pound guys who can cover in space.
Thompson feels it goes beyond physical attributes. Most of the aforementioned players have natural football instincts that help them diagnose plays, avoid blocks and offset any size deficiencies they might have.
“They want tough guys who get down here and play physically,” Thompson said. “If you’re a physical guy, you belong in this defense. If you’re smart, you belong in this defense. And that’s one of the types of guys they’re looking for.”
NOTES: The Bills signed CB Jalen Kimber and DE Andre Jones Jr. to the practice squad and released CB Daequan Hardy. … Kimber is an undrafted free agent from Penn State who spent training camp with the Tennessee Titans. … Jones was a seventh-round pick of the Washington Commanders, playing in 14 games as a rookie and two last season as a practice squad call-up. … The Bills agreed to an injury settlement with seventh-round pick WR Kaden Prather. … They also tried out kickers Zane Gonzalez, Greg Joseph and Eddy Pineiro.