The Buffalo Bills took a pair of losses from their practice squad this week, but have brought back a familiar face to make up for one of them.
The Bills lost practice squad quarterback Shane Buechele when he was poached by the Kansas City Chiefs, then just days later lost offensive lineman Kendrick Green to the Cleveland Browns. The pair of poachings left the Bills a bit thin on depth before a critical final stretch where they have an outside chance of stealing the division from the New England Patriots.
While the Bills have yet to make a decision on their third-string quarterback position, they quickly filled the hole at offensive line.
Bills Re-Sign Former Lineman
The Bills announced on Dec. 24 that they signed offensive lineman Richard Gouraige to their practice squad. As SI.com’s Randy Gurzi noted, Gouraige has plenty of experience in Buffalo.
“He played in Buffalo for two years, spending the majority of the time on the practice squad,” Gurzi wrote. “He did make one appearance, playing three snaps on offense during a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. Gouraige was released ahead of the 2025 season and was out of the league until Buffalo called on him to replace Green.”
The Bills added Green last offseason as some trusted depth. He started his career as a third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021, starting all 17 games at center in his rookie season before switching to guard and remaining inactive for the following year.
The Steelers traded Green to the Houston Texans, where he appeared in just four games over the next two seasons.
Green switched to guard but fell down the depth chart and was not active in any games the following season, then was traded to the Houston Texans and appeared in four games over the next two seasons.
The Bills have yet to land a replacement for Buechele, who played an important role as the team’s No. 3 quarterback and a personal coach of sorts for Josh Allen. Buechele was known as an expert on throwing mechanics and often worked with Allen on perfecting his form.
âThe knowledge he has of the game, itâs very beneficial for me,â Allen said. âItâs helpful that he sees the game very similarly to the way that I see the game. Weâre able to bounce ideas back and forth and heâs been a huge help in that room.â
Bills Face Critical Pair of Games
After a come-from-behind win over the New England Patriots in Week 15, the Bills earned a shot at winning their sixth straight division title. They will need to win one more game than the Patriots the rest of the way, and start the journey by hosting the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Allen will likely be less than 100% going into the game, admitting to reporters this week that he was still hurting after suffering a leg injury in last week’s win over the Cleveland Browns.
âI mean, still sore,â Allen said, via ESPN. âWalk-through today, so really not practice in general. So yeah ⦠feeling good.â
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