DeWayne Carter is walking into Bills training camp with the clock ticking.
Buffalo is kicking off camp this week and opening a 2026 season that looks different from the one fans have grown used to. For the first time in nine years, Sean McDermott won’t be the man running the show. That job now belongs to Joe Brady, and with the change has come plenty of movement across the roster.
That makes camp more than just a tune-up. It’s the first real look at how this new version of the Bills is going to sort itself out, and for some players, it’s the start of a fight for survival.
Carter is one of them.
The Bills took the defensive tackle in the 3rd round of the 2024 NFL Draft, a pick that came with the expectation that he’d start contributing sooner rather than later. Instead, his first two seasons have been a grind.
As a rookie, he finished with just 14 total tackles in 11 games, landed on injured reserve during the year, and never saw the field in the playoffs. Then his 2025 season never really got off the ground at all after he tore his Achilles in training camp.
Now he’s trying to reset in front of a new coaching staff.
The challenge is obvious. Buffalo didn’t make major additions to its defensive line, but the switch to a 3-4 scheme changes the math for Carter.
There’s only one true nose tackle on the field now, where the old 4-3 look allowed for two defensive tackles. That squeezes the room for error.
And Carter isn’t exactly sitting near the top of the depth chart. Ed Oliver is ahead of him, naturally, but so are Deone Walker and T.J.
Sanders. Phidarian Mathis, who has shown he can be an average run-stopper, can also be argued to be ahead of him.
There is a path here, though. Jim Leonhard taking over as defensive coordinator could be the kind of shift that helps Carter.
A more aggressive scheme might suit him better. But even with that possibility, he’s entering what is technically the third year of his career, and only the second he’s actually played, without much on tape to suggest he’s earned a roster spot outright.
The Bills have usually been willing to keep a player like this around: a rookie deal, a position of need, and a chance to keep developing. That works in Carter’s favor. Still, if he doesn’t stand out in camp and starts slipping behind the other options, Buffalo may have to ask a hard question about how much longer he belongs on the roster.
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Bills Fans Wont Love This AFC East Pass Rush Rumor
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New Englands pass rush was uneven last season and took another hit when KLavon Chaisson left in free agency, which is why the rumor has traction in the first place. Arizona may also be open to listening if the return is strong enough, and the idea of a proven edge threat landing in the AFC East is the kind of development that can change how a division race feels before it even starts. [Read more 🡒]
T.J. Sanders Suddenly Faces A Bigger Bills Role Than Expected
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Now the bigger question is how that experience translates into Jim Leonhards new defensive scheme, where Sanders is expected to have a real role and could find himself lining up on the edge more often than initially planned. The Bills liked what they saw from his ability to move around, but the next step is turning that flexibility into something more stable, especially if he is going to hold up as a down lineman in a more demanding front. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Trade Idea Feels Tempting For All The Wrong Reasons
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The problem is that Buffalo does not need to keep chasing volume at the position just for the sake of it. The roster already has enough mouths to feed, and another major addition would only squeeze the roles of Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid while adding more risk to a room that has already been turned over. For the Bills, the temptation is understandable, but the smarter play may be resisting another expensive swing and trusting the depth they have already built. [Read more 🡒]