Ed Oliver appeared in only three games during the regular season. Brett Davis / Imagn Images
The Buffalo Bills could be getting a defensive boost for their divisional-round playoff game against the Denver Broncos. On Friday, the Bills activated star DT Ed Oliver from injured reserve. Oliver has not played since Week 8 due to biceps and knee injuries. The Bills listed him as questionable on Thursday’s injury report.
Both the Bills and Oliver have been patiently waiting, hoping the team would still be alive in the postseason when Oliver would get clearance to return. Without question, Oliver is one of the Bills’ most impactful defenders. He was limited to three regular-season games in 2025, but he was a difference-maker in all of them. In those three appearances, Oliver maintained a pressure rate of 20.8 percent, according to TruMedia, with the next closest Bills defensive lineman registering a 15.4 percent pressure rate (Greg Rousseau). Oliver almost single-handedly took over the game during the Bills’ furious comeback in their season-opening win over the Baltimore Ravens.
On Saturday against the Broncos, who boast one of the NFL’s best offensive lines, Oliver’s addition would help the entire pass rush by attracting attention. It remains to be seen how much Buffalo would use him in his first game back after a long layoff, but given the stakes, it wouldn’t be a shock if he played a lot of snaps.
Not only does Oliver bring high-level ability as both a pass rusher and run defender, but his mere presence improves the overall defensive tackle picture. Every week that defensive tackle DaQuan Jones has been available in a game that Oliver has missed, the Bills have moved Jones out of their preferred position for him — the one-technique role — and instead had him in Oliver’s three-technique spot. Oliver’s potential return would allow the Bills to shift Jones back to his original role and take something off the plate of rookie one-technique Deone Walker while also keeping him a bit fresher. It would also allow them to have one or two other three-technique rotational pieces active, such as rookie T.J. Sanders and veteran Larry Ogunjobi.
If Oliver is back, and with Jones healthy, this would be the best the Bills’ defensive tackle room has looked since Week 1.
