Bills’ GM says new signings Larry Ogunjobi, Michael Hoecht will each be suspended 6 games for PED violations

The Buffalo Bills will have to wait a while to get a pair of their new additions on the field. General manager Brandon Beane said Friday that both defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and edge rusher Michael Hoecht tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be suspended for the first six games of the season, per ESPN.

According to Beane, the Bills knew about Hoecht’s positive test when they signed him to a three-year, $21 million contract but did not know about Ogunjobi’s prior to agreeing with him on a one-year, $8.3 million deal.

Ogunjobi is coming off a season where he notched 1.5 sacks and 5 tackles for loss across 15 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His agreement with the Bills takes him out of the AFC North for the first time in his career, as he had previously played four years with the Cleveland Browns and one with the Cincinnati Bengals before landing with Pittsburgh for the last three seasons. He’s expected to help the team’s run defense, but it will now be a while before he can do so.

Hoecht, meanwhile, has played his entire career to date with the Los Angeles Rams. He notched 3 sacks last season after totaling 10.5 in 2022 and 2023. He’s mostly been a rotational player in his career: he played 10% of snaps as a rookie, 38% in Year 2, 85% in Year 3 and 57% last year. He’s a situational pass rusher that should help Gregory Rousseau, Joey Bosa, A.J. Epenesa and Co. get after the quarterback, but again, the Bills will have to wait to get the benefit of his services.