The Buffalo Bills have quite the offseason to-do list for general manager Brandon Beane. Of course, most of that list revolves around adding players for the 2026 season. But in the NFL, sometimes addition is made by subtraction.
With Jim Leonhard bringing in a new 3-4 scheme as defensive coordinator and several disappointing performances sticking out from last year, there are a handful of players from the 2025 roster that Beane should consider leaving off the books for the 2026 campaign.
For a variety of reasons, these four players shouldn’t be brought back to Buffalo for next season.
4 Bills players Brandon Beane shouldn't bring back this offseason
4. DT Larry Ogunjobi
Larry Ogunjobi’s inclusion here is one of those ‘just in case you’re thinking about it’ situations. Ogunjobi turned in the worst season of his nine-year NFL career, posting career lows in nearly every category while being shut out from recording a sack for the first time in his career. Ogunjobi also appeared in just 10 games, the fewest in his career.
Ogunjobi has been on a slow decline since his lone and most successful season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021. He didn’t mesh particularly well in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 scheme despite hanging around with the Steelers for three seasons. If Ogunjobi didn’t play well in a 3-4 scheme or in Sean McDermott’s here in Buffalo, then what reason is there to expect him to mesh with Leonhard’s new system?
After seeing how unproductive and injury-prone Ogunjobi can be in 2025, the Bills shouldn’t have any interest in bringing the veteran defensive lineman back for a second contract.
3. EDGE A.J. Epenesa
A.J. Epenesa turned in a solid season for the Bills in 2025, but after six seasons in Buffalo, he hasn’t exactly lived up to his billing as a second-round pick. He has just 24 career sacks, adding 2.5 to his total last season, a steep drop in production after posting at least six in each of the past three seasons.
Still, Epenesa turned in 12 pressures and six quarterback hits, which track with his typical performance from one season to the next. Nonetheless, with Leonhard bringing in a new scheme and Epenesa set to become a 27-year-old free agent, it’s best to let Epenesa land elsewhere with new opportunities.
Bills fans are already anticipating losing Joey Bosa, leaving Greg Rousseau as the lone pass-rushing threat returning to the defense. However, with a late first-round pick in a talented pass rusher draft class, the Bills could fortify the future of their new defensive scheme with a rookie pass rusher in that spot who would match the new scheme more fluidly than either Epenesa or Bosa could at this stage in their careers.
2. LB Shaq Thompson
Shaq Thompson came to Buffalo and revived his career to a point in 2025. After missing much of the prior two seasons due to injury, Thompson teamed back up with Sean McDermott and put in a solid season at 31 years old.
But that’s just it. Thompson gave the Bills a vocal veteran leader in the middle of the defense, and someone who understood McDermott’s defense as well as anyone. But his age and the changing scheme don’t make a return for Thompson in 2026 a plausible decision for the Bills.
If the Bills were to retain one of their two veteran linebackers set to become free agents, it should be Matt Milano. He may not be a vocal leader, but he’s still a respected figure in the locker room and should be able to fit into Leonhard’s scheme, especially if Beane finds suitable young players to work in rotation.
1. WR Curtis Samuel
The lone offensive inclusion in this list is, of course, reserved for a wide receiver. If financials weren’t an issue, many in Bills Mafia would just assume to cut anyone not named Khalil Shakir and maybe Tyrell Shavers and rebuild the entire unit from the ground up. But the Bills do have to make sound decisions, and cutting Curtis Samuel loose should be on the table in that regard.
Samuel signed on as a free agent in 2024 after stringing together a couple of strong seasons in Washington. Beane gave him a three-year, $24 million contract, and since then, Samuel has caught just 37 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns. In 2025, Samuel played in just seven games, making his lone start in the Divisional Round loss, in which he caught one pass for two yards.
Samuel has battled injuries, but he hasn’t exactly been servicable when healthy either. The Bills can save nearly $8 million with just a $3.5 million penalty stretched across the next two seasons if they make Samuel a post-June 1st cut. Seems like a no-brainer for Beane to open up roster space for fresh bodies in the wide receiver room.