The Bills are already sorting out who’s trending up and who’s slipping back as the first preseason game approaches, and a few names have started to separate themselves in camp.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr has been one of the most impactful players so far. He may not be ready to knock Dorian Williams or Terrel Bernard out of the starting lineup, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he eventually does.
People around him have quickly learned the same thing: the fourth-round rookie is all business. He doesn’t smile much, carries that all-business look all the time, and stays in go-mode.
Dee Alford is also making a strong early impression after signing as a free agent, though his role won’t be a direct replacement for longtime nickel corner Taron Johnson. Alford is expected to be used differently than Johnson, who functioned almost like a third linebacker in Sean McDermott’s defense and was on the field as much as 90% of the time. Even so, Alford has been fitting in well in his assigned packages and has already made plays, including an interception of Josh Allen during the Red & Blue practice.
Dante Pettis has only been with the team a little more than a week, so he’s fighting an uphill battle while learning a new offense and trying to get Brady’s attention. One path for him is punt returner, and that job is wide open right now.
Pettis has bounced around the league - Buffalo is his fifth team since 2018 - but he brings 92 catches for 1,231 yards and 13 touchdowns, along with 51 punt returns for 373 yards. He’s been an average blocker, but if he can show value there and in the return game, he could push Trent Sherfield and Mecole Hardman for the No. 6 receiver spot.
On the other side of the ledger, Maxwell Hairston has been out for three practices with some kind of injury, and the Bills haven’t offered much in the way of updates this summer. That matters because he’s a player who can’t afford to lose reps.
His rookie year was already derailed by a training camp knee injury, and he never managed to beat out Tre’Davious White for a starting job. Hairston came into this season as the projected CB2 starter, but now 2026 second-round pick Davison Igbinosun is getting a real chance to gain ground in that battle.
DeWayne Carter is also looking for a reset after missing all of 2025 with an Achilles injury. He spent the offseason adding weight to compete for the nose tackle job, but the results have been modest. He’s not threatening Deone Walker, and he may have taken fewer first-team snaps than Phidarian Mathis.
Mike Danna rounds out the down side. He was signed as a second-tier free agent because of his experience in an odd-man front with the Chiefs, where he won two Super Bowl rings.
Buffalo also brought him in as insurance in case Michael Hoecht’s recovery from Achilles surgery hit a snag. That hasn’t happened.
Hoecht has been a full go, and with Hoecht, Greg Rousseau, Bradley Chubb, and TJ Parker in the mix, the edge group is crowded. Add third-year player Javon Solomon, who has a shot to become a core special teamer, and Danna’s roster spot is anything but secure.
In Other News...
Bills Fans Are Questioning What The New Stadium Prioritized
The conversation around the Bills new Highmark Stadium has shifted from anticipation to a very specific kind of fan frustration: the seats themselves. Populous, the architecture firm behind the project, said the obstructed views some fans are noticing were part of an intentional effort to pull spectators closer to the field and create a louder, tighter atmosphere, while also meeting the safety and concourse-space demands that come with a modern stadium.
For plenty of Bills supporters, though, that explanation has done little to calm concerns about compromised sightlines and obstructed seating. The backlash has spread across social media, where fans have complained not just about what they can and cannot see, but also about what they say were misleading assurances from ticket representatives. For a fan base that has waited through the long road to a new building, the question now is whether the design put atmosphere ahead of the basics people expect from their seats. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Stadium Backlash Just Raised One Huge Question For Fans
Photos showing obstructed-view seats at the Bills new stadium have sparked a wave of criticism from fans and sports personalities, turning what was supposed to be a gleaming next chapter for Buffalo into an early public relations headache. For a project built to showcase the franchises future, the optics of blocked sightlines have quickly become the story, and plenty of supporters are wondering how a brand-new venue could leave any seats with a compromised view.
The buildings design has an explanation attached to it, with some of those sightline issues presented as part of the concept meant to keep fans closer to the action. The organization, meanwhile, says the number of complaints from PSL holders has been tiny and that concerns will be handled individually, but the reaction suggests this is one issue that is not going away quietly as the stadium debate continues. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Roster Battles Start Getting Real Against The Panthers
The Bills have spent much of the offseason talking about depth, and now the preseason is where all of that planning starts to get tested. With Carolina on deck, Buffalo is moving from roster theory to roster reality, and the next few weeks should give the staff a clearer sense of which fringe players can handle real snaps when the games count.
Several spots are already drawing attention, from wide receiver and cornerback to inside linebacker, the defensive line and safety. For a team that values competition as much as continuity, the preseason opener is less about the final score than the jobs on the line, and the Panthers game is the first chance for those battles to start sorting themselves out. [Read more 🡒]