The Bills are about to find out what their depth really looks like.
That’s the part of an NFL roster everyone talks about in the abstract, then suddenly can’t stop caring about once injuries hit and the games matter in January. For Buffalo, the preseason opener against the Panthers inside the new Highmark Stadium is the first real chance to sort through those jobs that sit just below the headline names.
And there are plenty of them.
This Bills team has a lot of moving pieces in the background, especially compared with the previous coaching regime, and the preseason is where those hidden spots on the roster start to take shape. The vanilla game plans won’t tell the whole story, but the reps will.
The snaps will. The mistakes and the flashes will.
One of the most interesting battles is at wide receiver, where the No. 3 job feels significant for the 2026 offense. Josh Palmer looks like the favorite for that role, but Keon Coleman is still in the mix. Mecole Hardman is there too, along with rookie Skyler Bell.
The secondary has its own questions. Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston are set as the starting boundary corners, and Dee Alford is the primary slot cornerback. That leaves the CB4 spot open, with rookie Davison Igbinosun - Buffalo’s second pick in the 2026 draft - and Kani Walker from Arkansas both in the conversation.
Inside linebacker is another spot worth watching. The two starting jobs are locked in, right?
RIGHT?! But how Kaleb Elarms-Orr fits into the rotation is still unresolved.
He was Buffalo’s true camp standout outside of Josh Allen, and now the question is whether he opens his professional career as depth or forces his way into something bigger right away.
Up front, the Bills still have plenty to sort out behind Deone Walker and Ed Oliver. Rotation is part of life on the defensive line, and there are important depth roles waiting to be claimed there.
Safety is unsettled too, with no clear answers yet behind Cole Bishop and CJ Gardner-Johnson. And on the offensive line, Tylan Grable is the new swing tackle, at least for now.
So yes, it’s preseason football. But for Buffalo, this is the start of something useful: a real look at who belongs where before the regular season arrives.
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 🡒]