Sean McDermott 'happy' after desperate Chiefs steal QB, leave Bills shorthanded

Here today, gone tomorrow — such can be life for a NFL practice squad player.

For Shane Buechele, however, the reserve quarterback spent most of three seasons in the same place with the Buffalo Bills, but nothing lasts forever.

Needing another arm following ACL tears to quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew, the Kansas City Chiefs claimed their former backup off of the Bills' practice squad. As a reminder, any practice squad player can be claimed by another team as long as that team immediately places the player on its 53-man roster.

“I think more than anything, I'm happy for Shane," said Bills' head coach Sean McDermott.

Aug 23, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Shane Buechele (6) calls a play at the line against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Buechele will presumably be active for the Chiefs when they host the Denver Broncos on December 25. Chris Oladokun is the only other quarterback on Kansas City's roster.

"He and his family, they've been with us and done a phenomenal job and have a ton of respect and love and admiration for Shane," said McDermott.

The 27-year-old Buechele joined the Bills prior to the start of the 2023 regular season.

Buechele background info

Buechele initially signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted rookie in 2021. The native Texan was a cutdown day casualty in 2023, making him available for the Bills to pounce.

He spent the 2023 campaign on Buffalo's practice squad. Suffering a neck preseason neck injury in mid-August, Buechele landed on Injured Reserve for the entire 2024 season.

He has yet to take a NFL snap outside of his preseason appearances, but Buechele looked more than capable of operating an offense this past summer. He went 36-of-46 passing for 380 yards and one touchdown over three games, leading all Bills' quarterbacks with 8.26 yards per attempt and a 78.3 completion percentage.

Bills' next move

Normally, rolling with only two quarterbacks wouldn't be an issue, but starter Josh Allen was held out of practice on Tuesday due to a banged up foot. Allen's absence means backup Mitch Trubisky will have to single-handedly carry the load during practice.

As for bringing a third arm into the mix, it doesn't appear to be a priority at the moment.

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"We'll look into that part in terms of adding another quarterback," said McDermott on Monday.

Buffalo did not bring in any free-agent quarterbacks for tryouts on Tuesday per the NFL transactions wire. Former Bills' reserve QB Mike White is currently on the Carolina Panthers' practice squad, and Buffalo would be hard pressed to find an active roster spot for a third QB.

Mitch Trubisky, Shane Buechele — Buffalo Bills quarterback Shane Buechele throws a pass with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky watching from behind him during the Return of the BlueRed practice at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Aug.1, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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