The Buffalo Bills have a tight-knit quarterback room, with Josh Allen leaning on backups Mitch Trubisky and Shane Buechele for coaching and spending time with them in the offseason.
But a sudden need from an AFC rival could disrupt the quarterback room and leave the Bills shorthanded down the final stretch of the season. The Kansas City Chiefs are in need of quarterback help after two major injuries in the span of two weeks, and could turn to a familiar face on Buffalo’s practice squad.
Chiefs Could Poach Trusted Bills QB
The Chiefs lost starter Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, then saw backup Gardner Minshew go down in Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. While the full extent of Minshew’s injury was not known, his injury left the Chiefs with just one quarterback left on the depth chart — practice-squad signal-caller Chris Oladokun.
Mike Kadlick of SI.com broke down the list of potential quarterbacks the Chiefs could sign for depth over the final two weeks of the season, noting that former New England Patriots starter Bailey Zappe is an option along with a member of the Bills.
“Like Zappe, current Bills practice squad quarterback Shane Buechele also has an understanding of the Chiefs offense,” Kadlick wrote.
“Undrafted out of SMU in 2021, Buechele signed with Kansas City that May and spent two seasons with the teamâbouncing back-and-forth from their active roster and practice squad. The 27-year-old has yet to attempt a pass in his NFL career.”
Buechele has served as the practice squad quarterback in Buffalo for three seasons, though has never been elevated to the active roster.
Shane Buechele is Josh Allen’s ‘Right-Hand Man’
Buechele has played an important role in helping Allen prepare for games, with reporter Nick Sabato of the Niagara Gazette calling him “Allen’s right-hand man.” The two have grown close and spent time together in the offseason, with Buechele attending Allen’s wedding in May.
Bills quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry praised Buechele for his work in helping the quarterback room. Buechele had considered giving up playing to pursue a career as a quarterback coach, but decided to return to the Bills in a hybrid role that has him serving as the No. 3 quarterback while helping coach the two ahead of him.
âHe just has a great bedside manner,â Curry said. âHe sees the game easy and heâs coachable. And I think heâs great for Josh, being the caddy in the room. And heâs great for me just to bounce stuff off of him. If he wants to do coaching one day, Iâm pretty sure heâll excel at it.â
Allen also praised Buechele for his help in sharing ideas on how to improve.
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
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bills Could Lose Josh Allen’s ‘Right-Hand Man’ to Desperate Chiefs appeared first on Heavy Sports.