Maggitt finished tied for second on the team with four total tackles — three of them for a loss — in the Colts' 19-18 victory over the Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

In what was his first-ever professional game, Maggitt said he experienced a wave of emotions.

"It was excitement, you know?" Maggitt said this week. "Anxious, excited. I'm really grateful for the opportunity (with) what I've been through the past nine months, and I really just give a lot of thanks to God and just played my best."

Maggitt turned in an impressive junior season for the Volunteers in 2014 with 11 sacks, setting himself up to be a sure-fire draft pick after his senior year. In the process, he was one of just three players in the SEC that year to collect 11 sacks, joining Missouri's Shane Ray, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a 2015 first-round pick of the Denver Broncos, and Texas A&M's Myles Garrett, then a freshman who will assuredly be an early-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

But Maggitt would play in just two games in 2015 before a hip injury ended his senior season. He would go undrafted in April, and the Colts were more than happy when he signed with them as a college free agent.

"We're excited based on the tape we have on that kid," Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said of Maggitt at the time of his signing.

But Maggitt faced a clear uphill battle once he signed in Indianapolis, spending most of his time rehabbing — and away from the practice field during rookie minicamp and OTAs.

When the Colts arrived at Anderson University for the beginning of training camp in late July, Maggitt was able to get onto the field for really the first time in his Colts practice jersey. He said he's leaned on the other defensive veterans to help get him caught up and acclimated to the league.