{"id":841120,"date":"2026-03-29T15:46:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T15:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/841120\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T15:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T15:46:18","slug":"key-bills-free-agent-asserts-desire-to-return-to-buffalo-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/841120\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Bills Free Agent Asserts Desire to Return to Buffalo in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although the draft is coming up in April, NFL free agency isn\u2019t quite through<\/a>, and there\u2019s one player still available who says he wants to return to play for the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n

Shaq Thompson took to X to assert his position<\/a> on Saturday night, responding to a fan\u2019s social media inquiry.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Shaq, let\u2019s run it back in Buffalo!\u201d posted the fan. \u201cHave they been in contact?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to,\u201d responded the veteran linebacker.<\/p>\n

Thompson played his lone season with the Bills in 2025, posting a solid performance, leading many among the fan base to wish the team would re-sign him<\/a> for the upcoming campaign.<\/p>\n

Solid year\"Shaq<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills safety Cole Bishop (24) and outside linebacker Shaq Thompson (45) celebrate after intercepting a pass intended for New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Thompson appeared in 12 games for the Bills last year, earning six starts while his cohorts, Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano, were in and out of the lineup due to injury.<\/p>\n

He finished the year with 56 tackles, a forced fumble, a sack, six tackles for loss and a couple of passes defensed. The 11-year veteran also started both of the Bills\u2019 playoff games, recording an interception during Buffalo\u2019s wild-card win<\/a> over the Jacksonville Jaguars.<\/p>\n

Thompson is an unrestricted free agent and is projected to sign for $2.3 million in average annual value, according to\u00a0Spotrac.\u00a0Even before his recent post reiterating his desire to continue his career with the Bills, Thompson had previously expressed the same sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to play here,\u201d said Thompson during his end-of-season press availability. \u201cI told [Brandon Beane] this is my number one priority, but I definitely gotta weigh my options out, you know, cause I definitely want to start. I know I\u2019m a starter in this league.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I know my leadership\u2014that it could be enhanced, to me, anywhere. So I hope it\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

State of the position\"Shaq<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) is tackled out of bounds by Buffalo Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson (45) during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Bills are currently set to move forward with a new odd-man front defensively, with Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams slated as the team\u2019s starters at inside linebacker after the first wave of free agency.<\/p>\n

The draft is still upcoming<\/a>, and Buffalo could\u00a0very well\u00a0attack a player at the position to come in and unseat one of those two.\u00a0Georgia\u2019s CJ Allen has been a popular name floated through many mock drafts the past several months.<\/p>\n

Additionally, a few attractive free-agent options are remaining, even beyond Thompson. Former New York Giants LB Bobby Okereke is still available after spending the past few seasons playing for the Bills\u2019 new inside linebackers coach, John Egorugwu.<\/p>\n

No matter how they choose to do it, the Bills need to address the linebacker position in some shape, way or form this offseason. Bringing Thompson back for his age-32 season on a team-friendly deal while allowing him to compete with Bernard or Williams for a starting job may work for both sides.<\/p>\n

Buffalo recently brought back two familiar faces, wide receiver Trent Sherfield and safety Damar Hamlin, on one-year deals, and something similar could be a fit for Thompson if he can\u2019t find a better opportunity elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram<\/a> for the latest news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although the draft is coming up in April, NFL free agency isn\u2019t quite through, and there\u2019s one player…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":841121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,53,2086,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-841120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-buffalobills","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116313247313711677","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}