Bills finalize 17-player practice squad with Wills, Dortch, Thompson

Practice Squad Takes Shape

The Buffalo Bills announced their full 17-man practice squad on Monday night, a group that includes several experienced veterans and a former first-round draft pick. Among the signings, the team added left tackle Jedrick Wills, who was released by the Chicago Bears on Sunday, receiver and return specialist Greg Dortch, and longtime NFL linebacker Shaq Thompson, who returned for his second stint with the Bills.

The practice squad also features quarterback Shane Buechele, who was cut by the team on Sunday and rejoined after playing the entire preseason finale, in which he completed 26 of 38 passes for 196 yards. Other players signed include running back Frank Gore, wide receivers Stephen Gosnell, Ja’Mori Maclin, and Trent Sherfield, guard Nick Broeker, offensive tackles Chase Lundt and Travis Clayton, defensive lineman Keonta Jenkins, outside linebacker Andre Jones, defensive backs Te’Cory Couch and Geno Stone, cornerbacks Kani Walker and Anthony Kendall, and defensive tackle Travis Clayton.

The Bills were able to carry 17 practice squad players, one above the league standard, because Clayton qualifies as an international player. Teams are typically limited to 16 practice squad members, but the additional spot allowed the Bills to accommodate a full group.

Notable Additions

Jedrick Wills Jr.

Wills, the 10th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, signed with the Bills after being released by the Chicago Bears on Sunday. The Bears had signed him in the offseason. Wills spent five seasons in Cleveland after being drafted, playing in 58 games for the Browns. In 2023, he suffered a season-ending right knee injury during a Week 9 win over the Arizona Cardinals, then played in only five games the next season after aggravating the injury.

Wills missed the entire 2025 season, opting not to sign anywhere and citing a knee problem. In March, he said the issue stemmed from an alignment problem, not ligament damage.

"I injured a couple of ligaments, but usually when people like when they get fell on or something in their knee, they mess up all their ligaments and people can just go in and repair it and they get healthy," Wills said, according to various reports. "I had minimal damage to my ligaments. It was more of an alignment issue from where I got fell on. So they had to actually – it wasn’t my knee, they had to go into my femur and do what was called an osteotomy to kind of correct my alignment. So my knee is healthy."

The procedure corrected the issue, but the Bears moved on after training camp and the preseason. Wills lost the starting left tackle job to Braxton Jones during Chicago's camp.

Greg Dortch

The Bills also added wide receiver and return man Greg Dortch, who was released by the Detroit Lions a day earlier. Dortch, who played for Bills special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers while in Arizona, is expected to compete for the team's punt returner job. The Bills do not have a locked-in option at that spot, and Dortch had an impressive showing in Lions camp this summer, leading many reporters to expect he would make their 53-man roster.

Shaq Thompson

Thompson, who played 10 seasons for the Carolina Panthers and one for the Bills in 2025, returned on the practice squad. He started six games in the regular season and both of the Bills' playoff games last year. Thompson, who remained a free agent throughout the summer, said at the end of last season that he'd seek a starting opportunity in 2026, but with the team’s defense now under coordinator Jim Leonhard, he returns to the Bills after playing in that system in Carolina.

Other Notes

Among the Bills' own 2026 draft picks, Toriano Pride was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns. Pride, a seventh-round pick from Missouri, was drafted by the Bills but couldn't stay with the team due to depth at cornerback.

The team did not claim any players on waivers from other teams to add to their 53-man roster.

Safety Geno Stone is on the practice squad as well; his addition is considered important because of the status of starter J. Gardner-Johnson, who missed most of the summer with a lower body injury.

Wide receiver Trent Sherfield also joined the practice squad after serving as a steady receiver and special teams player for Buffalo in a previous stint.

Practice squad players do not count against a team's active 53-man roster and can be elevated to the game day roster up to two times each season.