Would you rather go to Key West Florida & lay on the beach or play football in Siberia which translates to Buffalo, New York? AJ Klein has played the line backer position in the NFL for 11 seasons. Before Monday’s playoff game between the Bills and Steelers, he played in one game this season for the Bills. He signed on to the Bills practice squad & ended up being released in December. Who says you have to get out of the house and pound the pavement looking for your next gig? The Bills called up Klein as the team needed some depth on the defense side of the ball with the start of the playoffs happening on the weekend. Klein had the RV ready to roll for a family vacation down in Florida visiting the Keys. Klein decided he wanted to play football, so he signed with the Bills on Thursday to the practice squad before the Wild Card weekend kicked off. Then Klein was quickly added to the active roster as the Bills’ other linebacker, Tyrel Dodson, was ruled out with an injury. Klein found playing time and was one of many unsung heroes on Monday’s late afternoon into the evening hours, that helped the Bills move on to the second round of the playoffs with a victory over the Steelers.

AJ Klein is 32 years old and he was drafted by the Carolina Panthers back in 2013 in the 5th round, 148th overall from Iowa State University. He played 4 seasons in Carolina and moved on to New Orleans. The first time I noticed Klein was when he was playing for the Saints as he had two back-to-back seasons in 2018-19 where he was playing solid football. Klein, a middle linebacker, racked up 70 tackles in 2018 of which 42 of those were solo. In 2019 he had 69 tackles of which 47 of those were solo. He had his only pick six in a Saints uniform. In 2020, Klein came to Buffalo and he had another solid seasons racking up 5 sacks, 75 total tackles of which 53 of those were solo. His numbers went down as his playing time did in 2021. In 2022, Klein was on 3 teams as he started with the Ravens, was traded to the Bears, and then was released by Chicago. The Bills signed him and brought him back for a second stint with the team which makes three teams. Klein has played in 146 games & has racked up 465 tackles. 318 of those were solo. He has tallied 15.5 sacks with 8 forced fumbles and 4 interceptions.

The Bills defense this season has been very solid all year despite losing some of their top guys. When the Bills were in London playing the Jaguars, they lost their best linebacker due to season ending injury, Matt Milano. The story has been with this Bills defense this season… who is the next man up? The Bills lost Millano’s replacement during the Steelers game when Terrel Bernard left the game with an injury. Head Coach Sean McDermott needed a guy to call the plays out there and that guy was AJ Klein. He came off his couch while postponing his vacation to be inserted into the game to call the plays and make sure guys are lined up where they are suppose to be. Klein led the Bills defense in tackles with 11, as 7 of those were solos. Klein has not played football in over a month. He said after the game, “I always say you gotta get your feet wet. The first few plays obviously weren’t that great, but I knocked off the rust and it was like riding a bike.”

The league has seen 38 year old Joe Flacco save the Cleveland Browns’ season by coming off the couch to play quarterback. Flacco did not have his best game over the weekend. AJ Klein had a thinking of hanging up the spikes for good as he became a football fan watching his old team play and screaming at the television when things were not going well. The Bills’ Head Coach, Sean McDermott, was grateful they managed to call Klein before they hit Walley World as he made the National Lampoon’s Vacation reference about how it went down. Maybe Klein calls his RV his cousin Eddie. In the playoffs, you need unsung heroes like Klein. Not sure many people would ditch the family trip to the Keys to play football in Buffalo in winter. The Steelers and Bills were supposed to play on Sunday, but with the blizzard the game was postponed until Monday. Klein, playing a solid game in cold temperatures, is pretty remarkable as he obviously has played for the Bills before and can adapt. Again, not around the Buffalo weather for a month you have to get used to conditions fast. Not many would take on this kind of work. Klein believes this team can go deep into the playoffs and beyond perhaps. When you’re the heart of the defense, playing middle linebacker in the NFL, playing in the Superbowl, and winning it trumps anything. That is the kind of dedication you hope everyone in that locker room has. Obviously Buffalo Bills have a fraternity of brotherhood because they do get guys they cut for whatever reason, coming back for more to provide a helping hand.