The Buffalo Bills rounded out their initial practice squad Thursday morning by signing former Kansas City Chiefs QB Shane Buechele. Needing an emergency third quarterback due to the new rule in place and someone to develop, the Bills looked to get someone with upside.
This spot was likely going to go to Matt Barkely this season, but considering he suffered a right elbow injury highly suspicious for a UCL sprain, he went to injured reserve prior to cut-down day.
While Buechele has never appeared in an NFL game, he still brings value in that he has spent the last two seasons in the same quarterback room as Patrick Mahomes. He has been around a winning organization and can help prepare Josh Allen weekly.
Here at Banged Up Bills, we want to know every player’s injury history because context matters when discussing their performance. This includes practice squad quarterbacks.
Below is Shane Buechele’s publicly reported injury history and concerns.
College
2016 Texas
Chest injury, missed 0 games.
Buechele suffered a chest injury after a hard hit in the first quarter and left briefly for further examination. Fortunately, this was not a concern after examination as he returned in the second quarter of the same game.
Right Thumb, missed 0 games.
Buechele suffered a thumb injury to his throwing hand that saw his production dip in the last three games of the season, suggesting he injured it against Texas Tech that year. It’s quite possible that the injury contributed to late season slide, seeing them lose their last three games to finish 5-7.
During spring practices, he was wearing a soft cast suggesting that he suffered a sprain in the thumb which prevented him from gripping the ball effectively.
2017 Texas
Bruised throwing shoulder, missed 2 games.
He sustained a bruise to his throwing shoulder in the season opening loss to Maryland. While a bruise is not particularly concerning, it was enough to miss the following two games against San Jose State and USC with the team going 1-1 without him.
Ankle sprain, non-throwing shoulder hit, missed 1 game.
He was able to return to play against Iowa State but got banged up once again, suffering an ankle injury and an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. This forced him back out of the lineup to miss Kansas State and missed most of the Oklahoma game, though he did play briefly. He did not appear in the Oklahoma State game, though it’s unclear if this was due to injury.
Hip abductor surgery
For his final injury of the season, Buechele dealt with a torn hip abductor sustained in the first half against Missouri in the Texas Bowl. He underwent surgery and returned for spring practices and the 2018 season.
SMU 2019-2020
No publicly reported injuries.
NFL
2021-2022 Kansas City Chiefs
Has not appeared in an NFL game, no publicly reported injuries.
Buffalo Bills Injury Outlook
Buechele has not dealt with any injuries since 2017 making his fairly healthy and available if called upon. He got beat up on some mediocre Texas teams as seen above. He went undrafted in 2021 and was not viewed more than a priority free agent at the time.
None of the injuries are concerning moving forward, especially the length of time since then. He has the ability to help prepare the quarterback room weekly and be an option in case either Josh Allen or Kyle Allen are working through injuries. If we see Buechele in a game, that means the Bills are likely not in a good spot.
