Saturday morning, Bills president of football operations Brandon Beane put out a statement confirming news that has been circulating lately regarding defensive tackle Ed Oliver.
"On behalf of the entire Buffalo Bills organization, we want to publicly express our condolences to Ed Oliver and his family on the devastating loss of his son. It's an unthinkable tragedy for any parent. We will continue to support Ed and his family as we all grieve this tragic loss."
The tragedy apparently occurred in late June when Oliver was back at his home in Houston during the NFL’s summer vacation. There was a report from the Harris County sheriff’s office in Houston that a toddler had been found unresponsive in a pool earlier that evening. The toddler was taken
to a local hospital, where the child was pronounced dead.
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 22, 2026
It is uncertain whether the child died at Oliver’s home or somewhere else in the neighborhood. There has been an ongoing investigation into what occurred, but it does not appear that anything has been resolved.
Oliver reported to Bills’ training camp on July 28 at St. John Fisher University and has been participating regularly in practice. There was no indication from his interactions that anything had happened.
He played in last week’s preseason opener at Highmark Stadium against the Panthers, but may have suffered an injury in the game because he has not practiced with the team since and did not make the trip to Cleveland for Thursday’s joint practice and Saturday’s game.
Bills coach Joe Brady has been unwilling to provide specifics on injuries this summer and won’t do so until he has to per NFL rules once the regular season begins.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills sends condolences after star defender's son dies
