Buffalo Bills break silence as cause of death of player’s two-year-old is revealed

The Buffalo Bills family is in mourning.

Over the weekend, it was revealed that team member Ed Oliver’s son, also named Ed, died after he was found unresponsive in a swimming pool by family members at a residence outside Houston on June 28. He was two years old.

And though both the defensive tackle, 28, and his team initially remained quiet about the death, they have now publicly expressed their condolences — with quarterback Josh Allen noting his anger over how the cause of death was initially shared.

“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,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. 

“It’s an unthinkable tragedy for any parent. We will continue to support Ed and his family as we all grieve this tragic loss,” he added.

Addressing the tragic news, Josh, who joined the Bills in 2018, just one year before Ed, told a group of reporters on Saturday after the preseason game in Cleveland: “How it came out makes me very, very sad and angry at the same time.”

© Getty Images

Many had already been aware of Ed’s toddler’s death, but had been waiting for either the team or Oliver himself to address it, though news of it ultimately came out  beforehand.

“What we’ve been doing is giving him his space and time, but at the same time being around him, loving up on him,” Josh continued. “But not trying to do anything to reopen that … Just guys being around him and putting their hand on him and not having to say too much, but ‘I got your back.'”

“It’s very hard to wrap your mind around a teammate going through a situation like that,” Josh, who became a dad for the first time earlier this summer when he welcomed daughter Harper with wife Hailee Steinfeld, added. “Because you have kids, you understand what that could be like and what that could feel like. You never want to put yourself in that situation or those shoes. He’s a strong man.”

ESPN reports that on June 28, Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an in-progress life-in-danger call, though the sheriff’s office did not name Ed or the family.

© Instagram

The child was taken by ambulance to a Houston hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:18 p.m.

Ed, who is also a dad to a daughter, Ava, was not with the Bills in Cleveland for their preseason game against the Browns as he is recovering from an unspecified but minor injury.