The Buffalo Bills announced the signings of quarterback Shane Buechele and linebacker Christian Kirksey to their practice squad Thursday morning.
General manager Brandon Beane said the wheels were in motion for both things to happen on Wednesday, but both players had to get into town and pass their physicals.
Buechele will take the place of Matt Barkley who was slated to be the practice squad quarterback before suffering a season-ending elbow injury.
Here are three things to know about him:
Buechele split his college football career between Texas and SMU. His choosing Texas probably didn't go over well in his family since everyone rooted for arch rival Oklahoma.
In the first start he made as a freshman in 2016, he led Texas to a thrilling 50-47 overtime victory over 10th-ranked Notre Dame, throwing for 280 yards and two touchdowns. He eventually set the school passing record for freshmen with 2,958 yards, surpassing the yardage total of Colt McCoy.
Buechele eventually lost his starting job in his sophomore season to Sam Ehlinger who is currently the backup quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts , and after sticking around as a backup as a junior, he transferred to SMU where he played 23 games across two seasons and threw for 7,023 yards and 57 touchdowns.
He was not drafted in 2021 but he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and he has spent the past two seasons on their practice squad. Because he was on the team last season, Buechele is the proud owner of a Super Bowl championship ring.
In three preseason games with the Chiefs this summer, Buechele completed 29 of 45 passes for 349 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Across three preseasons for the Chiefs, he completed 97 of 151 passes for 1,106 yards, nine TDs and six interceptions.
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during training camp, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Shane Buechele signed to Buffalo Bills practice squad: 3 things to know
