Bills Activate DT Ed Oliver, WR Curtis Samuel From IR
Buffalo is welcoming back a couple of reinforcements in time for Saturday’s divisional round matchup with Denver. The Bills have activated defensive tackle Ed Oliver and wide receiver Curtis Samuel from injured reserve.
Oliver’s seventh NFL season began auspiciously with a standout performance in a win over the Ravens in Week 1. However, after suffering a foot injury in practice, he missed the Bills’ next four games.
Oliver returned to play in two before tearing his biceps, an injury that forced him to IR on Oct. 28. The 28-year-old ended his regular season with 12 tackles, 11 pressures, seven TFL, five QB hits and three sacks in three games.
Although Oliver was only on the field for 108 defensive snaps during the regular season, Pro Football Focus assigned him a 90.4 grade against the run. Despite largely going without Oliver, the Bills’ defense finished with respectable marks in yards and points allowed (seventh and 12th, respectively). They struggled to stop the run without Oliver, though. Only four teams allowed more rushing yards than Buffalo during the regular season.
The Bills’ problems against the run continued in a wild-card round win over the Jaguars last week. The Jags rumbled for 154 yards on 23 attempts. Oliver’s return should give the Bills a better chance of preventing a similar showing from the Broncos’ ground game this week.
It’s unclear how many snaps Oliver will play following a layoff of two-plus months, especially after he underwent a meniscus cleanup in late December. Assuming he plays Saturday, though, Oliver will rejoin an interior group that also relies heavily on fellow veteran DaQuan Jones and a pair of rookies in Deone Walker and T.J. Sanders.
Samuel, who has been out since mid-November with an elbow injury, has disappointed during the first two seasons of a three-year, $24MM contract. The former Panther and Commander played in six regular-season games in 2025 and caught just seven passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. His return is nonetheless welcome for a Buffalo team whose receiving corps has offered lackluster production all year. Adding to the Bills’ problems at receiver, they lost two contributors, Tyrell Shavers and Gabriel Davis, to torn ACLs in Jacksonville.
Along with activating Oliver and Samuel, the Bills have elevated receiver Mecole Hardman and running back Frank Gore Jr. from their practice squad. Hardman will join Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Brandin Cooks as the Bills’ receivers in Denver.
Gore’s elevation suggests the Bills will go a second straight game without third-down back Ty Johnson, who’s questionable with an ankle injury. Working behind James Cook and Ray Davis, Gore caught one pass for six yards against the Jags.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/14/26
Here are today’s midweek minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on IR: WR Tyrell Shavers (story)
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: S D’Anthony Bell
Houston Texans
- Reverted to season-ending IR: CB Ajani Carter
New England Patriots
- Designated for return from IR: RB Terrell Jennings
After tearing his ACL, further thinning out the Bills’ postseason wide receiving corps, Shavers has been placed on injured reserve. Buffalo has an experienced name or two on its practice squad that could end up filling in.
Carter wasn’t able to make it off IR within his 21-day practice window. He’ll revert back to IR without the ability to be activated again this season.
Dolphins Request HC Interviews With Joe Brady, Anthony Campanile
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile are officially on the list of head coaching candidates for the Dolphins. The Dolphins have requested interviews with Brady and Campanile, according to reports from Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Brady, who’s in his second full season as the Bills’ O-coordinator, initially took the reins on an interim basis in November 2023. Then the Bills’ quarterbacks coach, Brady stepped in when Sean McDermott fired Ken Dorsey. The offense showed enough positives under Brady for the Bills to promote him to the full-time job.
After finishing second in scoring and 10th in total offense in 2024, a year in which quarterback Josh Allen won MVP honors, Brady landed on the head coaching radar last winter. The Bears, Jaguars, Jets and Saints all interviewed him before hiring other candidates.
Despite a lack of high-end receiving talent, Brady coached the Bills’ offense to fourth-place rankings in points and yards during the regular season. Allen’s strong play continued, while James Cook led the league in rushing during a 12-win campaign. Brady and the Bills then knocked off Campanile and the Jaguars in last week’s wild-card round. Buffalo will head to Denver for a divisional round meeting on Saturday.
The Dolphins join the Ravens as teams to request a meeting with the 36-year-old Brady, who was born in nearby Hollywood, Fla. While Miami is coming off a four-year run with an offensive-minded head coach in Mike McDaniel, it has mostly zeroed in on defensive candidates in this search. Brady, Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak and ex-Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski are exceptions, as PFR’s HC Search Tracker shows.
Campanile, 43, is the seventh defensive coordinator to receive an interview request from the Dolphins. After serving as an assistant in various roles at Rutgers, Boston College and Michigan from 2012-19, he got his start in the NFL as the Dolphins’ linebackers coach in 2020. Then-head coach Brian Flores brought in Campanile, who retained his position when McDaniel replaced Flores in 2022.
Campanile assisted McDaniel for two years before a one-season run as the Packers’ LBs coach and running game coordinator. Notably, new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was in Green Bay’s front office then.
Now coming off his first year as a coordinator, Campanile played a key role in helping the Jaguars and rookie head coach Liam Coen to a 13-4 record. While the Jaguars’ defense was among the NFL’s worst in 2024, it turned around its fortunes under Campanile. The unit ranked second in takeaways, eighth in scoring and 11th in yards in 2025. Campanile hasn’t received any other interview requests, but he’ll at least have a chance to convince Sullivan and the Dolphins he’s the right person to take over for McDaniel.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/13/26
The NFL’s latest reserve/futures deals…
Buffalo Bills
- OL Nick Broeker
Indianapolis Colts
- LB Devin Veresuk
Los Angeles Chargers
- LS Peter Bowden, WR Dalevon Campbell, DL TeRah Edwards, WR Luke Grimm, WR JaQuae Jackson, RB Amar Johnson, LB Emany Johnson, C Josh Kaltenberger, TE Tanner McLachlan, OLB Garmon Randolph, G Branson Taylor, QB DJ Uiagalelei, CB Isas Waxter, TE Thomas Yassmin
New York Giants
- DL Marlon Tuipulota
Pittsburgh Steelers
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/13/26
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Kristian Wilkerson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Alex Johnson
New England Patriots
- Signed: CB Miles Battle, RB D’Ernest Johnson, OT Lorenz Metz, WR Trent Sherfield
- Released: DL Fabien Lovett, WR Brandon Smith
The Patriots are the third team of the season for Sherfield, who spent time with the Broncos and Cardinals. Sherfield has never been much of a receiving threat (he combined for three catches in 12 games with Denver and Arizona), but he has been a solid special teamer since his career began in 2018. The 29-year-old posted a 51% special teams snap share in 10 games with the Broncos. After they cut him in mid-November, he played 63% of ST snaps in two contests with the Cardinals.
Bills WR Tyrell Shavers Suffers Torn ACL
The Bills’ already thin receiving corps has taken another hit. Tyrell Shavers will miss the rest of the postseason with a torn ACL, head coach Sean McDermott announced (via Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network).
Shavers suffered his injury in the second quarter of the Bills’ win over the Jaguars in the wild-card round last Sunday, though he still played in the second half. Fellow receiver Gabe Davis also tore his ACL in the same game. Regardless of how far the Bills advance in the playoffs, neither Shavers nor Davis will take the field again until sometime next season at the earliest.
While Shavers appeared in all 17 regular-season games after earning a roster spot over the summer, he wasn’t a significant part of the Bills’ passing attack in 2025. The third-year man from San Diego State hauled in 15 receptions for 245 yards and a touchdown.
Even though he didn’t post gaudy numbers, the Bills regard Shavers as a reliable blocker and special teamer. He finished third among their receivers with a 39% offensive snap share. Shavers was also on the field for 55% of special teams snaps in the regular season.
Now preparing to face top-seeded Denver and its elite defense in the divisional round on Saturday, the Bills will scramble to cobble together a full group of receivers in the next few days. Along with Shavers and Davis, Josh Palmer is done for the year with an ankle injury. That leaves slot target Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Brandin Cooks as the only healthy wideouts on Buffalo’s roster, though Curtis Samuel could come off IR to rejoin the fray soon. An elbow injury has held Samuel out since Nov. 16, but the Bills opened his practice window Monday.
Barring outside acquisitions, the Bills will have to dip into their practice squad to fill out their receiving corps against the Broncos. Mecole Hardman, Kristian Wilkerson and Stephen Gosnell are their in-house options. Hardman, a three-time Super Bowl winner with the Chiefs, is easily the most established member of the trio. Wilkerson has six NFL games under his belt (three with the Patriots in 2021, three with the Raiders in 2024). Gosnell, an undrafted rookie from Virginia Tech, hasn’t played since the preseason.
The receiver position has been a sore spot for the Bills throughout the season. Although general manager Brandon Beane made attempts to improve it before the Nov. 4 trade deadline, he was unable to complete any deals. The Bills are still standing over two months later, but a worsening receiver situation will add to the difficulty of knocking off the Broncos and earning a second straight trip to the AFC Championship Game.
Vikings Assistant Mike Pettine To Retire
Brian Flores or a Vikings DC successor will not have Mike Pettine around for experienced help in 2026, however. The veteran staffer is retiring, Kevin O’Connell announced Tuesday.
Pettine, 59, has coached in the NFL since 2002. He rose to a head coaching seat in 2014 (with the Browns) and has been a coordinator in a few cities. He had been on O’Connell’s Minnesota staff since 2022, working under Ed Donatell and then Flores as an assistant head coach.
Jumping from the high school level to a Ravens assistant in 2002, Pettine became a defensive coordinator in 2009. The Jets, Bills and Packers employed Pettine as a DC. He started out in that position with the Jets under Rex Ryan. Pettine played a key role in the Jets making back-to-back AFC championship game appearance, as Revis Island formed to bolster Gang Green’s defense-powered operation in Ryan’s early years. Pettine stayed on as New York’s DC for four seasons before moving to Buffalo under Doug Marrone. Following that season, the Browns concluded a slow-moving HC search by naming him their next leader.
Pettine’s first year in Cleveland (2014) brought some unexpected success. Despite Jimmy Haslam overreach leading to a Johnny Manziel first-round selection, Pettine had the Browns — who were without top receiver Josh Gordon for most of the 2014 season — at 7-4. Cleveland-area native Brian Hoyer had quarterbacked the Browns to that point, as Manziel needed extensive development before debuting. Pettine’s defense also ranked ninth that season. But Manziel received the call to start near the end of the year. The bottom fell out for the Browns, who finished 7-9, and Pettine’s 2015 season keyed a descent.
On- and off-field Manziel problems engulfed the Browns in 2015 — before the team cut the megabust. After letting Kyle Shanahan out of his OC contract following a 2014 one-off, Cleveland finished 3-13 in Pettine’s second season. The team used Manziel and free agent signing Josh McCown as their primary QBs, and ownership fired he and GM Ray Farmer. Pettine resurfaced with the Seahawks as a consultant in 2017 and with the Packers as their DC by 2018.
In charge of two Packers defenses that appeared in NFC championship games, Pettine lasted three seasons in Green Bay. Pettine’s 2019 and ’20 Green Bay defenses ranked ninth and 13th, respectively, in scoring, but NFC title game letdowns ensued. Raheem Mostert ran wild on the Packers in the 2019 conference championship round, producing the second-most playoff rushing yards in NFL history, and the Packers gave up 31 points to the Tom Brady-piloted Buccaneers a year later in a home loss.
Although the Pack intercepted three Brady passes in the second half of that game, the team did not renew his contract in 2021. He worked as a Bears assistant under Matt Nagy before trekking to Minnesota. Pettine served as outside linebackers coach with the Vikings, who had two Pro Bowl OLBs (Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel) in 2024, over the past two seasons.
Bills Designate Ed Oliver, Curtis Samuel For Return From IR
The Bills are in the divisional round for the sixth straight season, defeating the Jaguars to book a trip to Denver. They could have a key reinforcement back for that game.
Ed Oliver will return to practice this week, Sean McDermott said (via the Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski). The veteran defensive tackle has been out since suffering a biceps tear in October. Oliver also underwent knee surgery recently. He is eligible for an IR activation, though the two-injury component could add a potential complication.
[RELATED: Injured Reserve Return Tracker]
Buffalo will also open Curtis Samuel‘s practice window, according to McDermott. Elbow and knee maladies sidelined Samuel in late November, but the 2024 free agency pickup has not been a key part of Buffalo’s passing attack this season. Despite the Bills needing wide receiver help pretty much since the Stefon Diggs trade, Samuel has been an afterthought.
One player who will not factor into the Bills’ receiving equation against the Broncos will be Gabe Davis, whom McDermott said (via Skurski) suffered an ACL tear against the Jaguars. Davis, whom the Jags cut shortly after the draft, rejoined the Bills on a practice squad deal before being signed to the active roster. He is on a one-year, $1.17MM deal — the veteran minimum for Davis’ service time.
Another Bills injury area to monitor: safety. The team will not have Jordan Poyer against the Broncos, with McDermott indicating the veteran defender will be out for the divisional round due to a hamstring injury. The Bills used Jordan Hancock in place of Poyer once he went down in Jacksonville, but Damar Hamlin is in the IR-return window. Hamlin has not played since early October because of a pectoral injury.
The Bills’ run defense has suffered greatly this season, ranking 28th. Oliver’s absence has obviously hurt here. The veteran defensive tackle missed time due to an ankle injury sustained in Week 1 but did not land on IR as a result. In his second game back from that issue, Oliver sustained the biceps tear. A postseason return was rumored, however. Though, that report came before a confirmed knee surgery. Oliver, 28, is attempting to finish off a three-injury season by helping in some capacity.
Oliver suffered a setback in late December, and a New Year’s Day report revealed he underwent a meniscus cleanup surgery. Oliver returning for the Broncos matchup or a possible AFC championship game date would presumably involve a reduced role, but any return would help a Buffalo defense that has withstood a number of maladies. The team played its wild-card game without recently extended linebacker Terrel Bernard and first-round cornerback Maxwell Hairston.
Prior to his injuries, Samuel caught just seven passes for 81 yards over six games. The Bills gave the ex-Panthers and Commanders wideout a three-year, $24MM deal in 2024. The contract reunited Samuel with ex-Carolina OC Joe Brady, but Samuel has been among Buffalo’s misses at receiver over the past two years. After a failed attempt to acquire Jaylen Waddle at the deadline, the Bills added Brandin Cooks and Mecole Hardman. Davis had rejoined the team, after disappointing on a $13MM-per-year deal in Jacksonville, just before the season.
Poyer came back after training camp following a year with the Dolphins. The Bills have turned to their former starter as a first-stringer once again, deploying him alongside Cole Bishop after Taylor Rapp‘s season-ending injury. Poyer, 34, is likely to retire at season’s end. While it will be interesting to see who the Bills start in Round 2, they will need to win in order for Poyer to continue his career.
Bills Place WR Josh Palmer On IR
Josh Palmer‘s debut Bills season is over. The free agent wideout has been moved to injured reserve, the team announced on Saturday. 
The rule for players missing a minimum of four games while on IR continues through the playoffs. As a result, any which are placed on injured reserve now are ineligible to return the rest of the way. An ankle injury will keep Palmer unavailable for the duration of Buffalo’s postseason.
Palmer played in 12 games – including Week 18 – this season. The 26-year-old Canadian was in position to handle a key role on offense with his new team upon arrival from the Chargers, but despite making eight starts he registered just 303 scoreless yards on 22 catches. Nevertheless, losing Palmer (who is under contract through 2027) will deal a blow to a Buffalo passing game which has struggled with inconsistency this year.
In a corresponding move, linebacker Baylon Spector has been signed from the practice squad to the active roster. Spector has made three appearances this season, with the most recent coming in December. The fourth-year Bill will be expected to contribute on special teams in addition to providing depth on defense.
In other roster news, the Bills have elected not to elevate kicker Matthew Wright from the practice squad. Wright was signed earlier this week as insurance with Matt Prater‘s status uncertain due to a quad injury. Based on the team’s actions today, though, Prater is in line to handle kicking duties on Sunday against the Jaguars.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/10/26
Here are Saturday’s moves around the NFL as the first day of wild-card weekend continues:
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: DE Andre Jones Jr., RB Frank Gore Jr.
Denver Broncos
- Designated for return from IR: LB Drew Sanders
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: WR Isaiah Neyor
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: WR Tim Jones
Los Angeles Chargers
- Activated from IR: TE Tucker Fisk
- Placed on IR: WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith
- Elevated: WR Dalevon Campbell, CB Isas Waxter
New England Patriots
- Elevated: DT Leonard Taylor, WR Jeremiah Webb
Philadelphia Eagles
- Elevated: LS Charley Hughlett, DB Andre’ Sam
San Francisco 49ers
- Elevated: LB Jalen Graham, WR Malik Turner
Sanders was limited to four games last season due to an Achilles tear. The 25-year-old then suffered a foot injury in training camp which kept him sidelined for the entire regular season in 2025. As Mike Klis of 9News notes, Sanders will not be available in the divisional round but a return deeper into the postseason will be at least a faint possibility with him now on the practice field.