When the Buffalo Bills made the bold move to fire Sean McDermott after their 2025 season ended in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, it was the start of an avalanche of changes that were coming. Whenever there is a major change in the organization, more changing moves are bound to happen.
Whether it's coordinator jobs or roster jobs, no one can deny that things will look different whether it's for better or worse. Even though the Bills ultimately did a promotion with hiring Joe Brady as the new head coach from offensive coordinator, changes were still made in the coaching side as well as on the roster.
As all of the changes started going into effect, that meant there was a great chance that players who were on expiring contracts possibly weren't going to be back in Bills blue. That was the case for a lot of pending free agents as players like Matt Milano, Joey Bosa, Gabe Davis, and Tre'Davious White still all remain unsigned at this moment. The thing about it as well, is that there hasn't been any rumors of them visiting any teams.
There are plenty of current Bills free agents still available
However, that isn't the case for all current free agents that were with the Bills last season. Mike Reiss from ESPN who covers the New England Patriots reported on Tuesday that the Patriots hosted DT DaQuan Jones and LB Shaq Thompson for visits.
The Patriots had veteran free agent DT DaQuan Jones and free agent LB Shaq Thompson in for visits (different from tryouts).
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 18, 2026
Veterans who have played a lot of football.
Jones had been with the Bills since 2022 after playing seven seasons in Tennessee and one season in Carolina. In four seasons with the Bills, Jones racked up 10 sacks and 99 total tackles. As a true run-stopper, Jones managed to help plug the trenches but there was also a good amount of inconsistency.
With the Bills moving away from their 4-3 defense to now a 3-4 under Jim Leonhard, Jones wouldn't have been the best fit so it made sense to not extend him.
As for Thompson, he played just one season with the Bills last season. Prior to him arriving in Buffalo, he played with the Carolina Panthers from 2015-2024. He was a very productive player early on in his career and he did get to play in Sean McDermott's scheme when McDermott was the defensive coordinator for the Panthers.
The Bills took a risk on Thompson as he had just appeared in 8 total games from 2023-2024 due to injuries. However, he looked like the Bills' best linebacker at times last season. In his one season with the Bills, Thompson recorded 56 total tackles along with a sack and forced fumble.
Could Bills end up seeing two familiar faces back in AFC East?
I think it could be very possible, especially considering the fact that it seems like the Bills aren’t looking to bring either one of them back. It’s not that they don’t have the talent to give it one more year with the Bills, but whether or not the defensive identity that has been implemented is a good fit for them.
With the way Thompson played last season, it would be surprising to not see him on an NFL roster before Week 1 of the regular season. As for Jones, he could very well be a roster addition for someone during the season as either extra depth, or taking over the role of a starter who may have gone down with an injury.
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