The Bills and Josh Allen’s tumultuous times began after their loss to the Broncos in the Divisional playoff game. The franchise fired head coach Sean McDermott, and now the favored replacement, Philip Rivers, announced a shocking withdrawal. However, that was not the end of the shake-up for the Buffalo Bills.

“Practice squad players from teams that lost divisional playoff games are now officially free agents,” reported Tom Pelissero on X. “Notable names include: Edge Matt Judon, Edge Shaq Lawson, QB Shane Buechele, WR Quintez Cephus, DB K’Von Wallace, K Matthew Wright.”

While Matthew Judon and Shaq Lawson were signed to the practice squad in December 2025, Shane Buechele and Matthew Wright were signed in January 2026, before the Wild Card playoff game. All of them were signed to stack their practice squad ahead of the playoffs.

Linebacker Judon is a veteran in the NFL, with 72 sacks and one defensive touchdown to his name since the Ravens drafted him in 2016. The same goes for Shaq Lawson, who had his third stint with the Bills. The Bills drafted him in 2016, where he played until 2019. He returned to Buffalo in 2022 after a short stint with the Dolphins, Texans, and Jets. In 2024, the Panthers signed him. Following his release, the Bills signed him again. Lawson has experience playing in the playoffs for the Bills, having recorded 26 sacks, 121 solo tackles, 14 pass deflections, and 77 quarterback hurries.

QB Shane Buechele is another player who was previously assigned to the Bills from 2023 to 2025. Initially, the Chiefs signed him in 2021 after going undrafted at the draft. In his second season, he won Super Bowl LVII as the backup QB. After leaving the Bills in 2025, he rejoined the Chiefs. Unfortunately, he was released, and the Bills re-signed him. The reason for this was to safeguard the QB position. Allen was suffering from soreness, and Trubisky was the only other option. Also, Allen had a great relationship with Buechele, who helped him in improving his throwing mechanics and footwork.

Signing Matthew Wright was also a strategic move by the Bills. He was an emergency insurance policy against Matt Prater, who suffered a quadriceps injury. The injury made him uncertain for the Wild Card game. Boasting an 88.2% career field goal rate, he scored 5-of-5 field goals in 2025.

Unfortunately, with their playoff dreams over, the franchise won’t need them, at least for now. They may come back if the Bills bring them back, but it looks like they won’t walk that path yet. While the Bills let go of so many players, former quarterback Philip Rivers turned the tables on them.

Philip Rivers won’t replace Sean McDermott

With Sean McDermott’s firing, there were several potential candidates who could replace him. Veteran quarterback Philip Rivers became one of the leading names for the role. The franchise interviewed him on Friday in Florida. However, as per the latest news, Rivers withdrew from the role.

Rivers just wrapped up his 18th season in the NFL. Although the 2020 season was the last time he played in the NFL, the Colts brought him back after QB Daniel Jones suffered an Achilles injury. His comeback did not live up to the hype as he went 0-3.

He does not have any experience at the collegiate or professional level, but the Bills were ready to put their faith in him. The former quarterback was also open to coaching in the NFL, having served as the coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama.

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“I do think, as humbly as I can say it, that I could coach at this level,” Rivers said. “I know enough about the game and about the guys, and from a leadership standpoint, camaraderie, all that comes with it. But again, that’s not something that I’m sitting here pursuing.”

But the thought has yet to become a reality. Things have gotten even trickier for the Bills since they won’t be able to interview Klint Kubiak, the Seahawks‘ OC. As per the latest announcement, if the Bills had conducted the first interview, they could have called him for a second. Since they have not done that, they can’t request an interview with him until the Super Bowl is over. With so much going on in Buffalo, it remains to be seen how they tackle the situation.