While the Buffalo Bills defeated the Carolina Panthers 29-14, it was the team's first official win at home in their new Highmark Stadium. The NFL preseason, however, is really about testing and evaluating up-and-coming players who hope to make the 53-man roster come Week 1 against the Houston Texans.
It also gives the coaching staff a full assessment of the players, as head coach Joe Brady put the entire healthy team out on the field, including the starters, for a full evaluation. It gives the entire team a fair chance to make an impression on their coaches and see who improved their chances of making the team.
5 players who improved their chances of making team
1.) DT/NT Deone Walker
Deone Walker was an athletic playmaker starting at the true nose tackle position in the first look at Jim Leonhard's hybrid 3-4 attacking defense. The 6-foot-7, 331-pound athlete had questions early in the season about whether he could be a true nose tackle in a 3-4.
The answer is yes, as he piled up 3 tackles, a sack, and a QB hurry. What makes Walker a special talent at nose tackle is that he is very tall and towering, and that his feet are very quick for a player his size.
Walker could be an All-Pro nose tackle and maybe a Pro Bowl Games Selection if he can stay healthy and produce as he did in this preseason game for a majority of the regular season. If anyone had any doubts about him making the roster, he picked up where he left off last season.
2.) CB Kani Walker
Undrafted free agent Kani Walker has been getting his name out there with explosive performances in training camp that carried over into the preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. He upped his odds of making the team as he intercepted Kyle Trask's pass near the end of the fourth quarter.
At 6-foot-2, 204 pounds, Walker has made every rep count so far at cornerback for the Bills, and if he keeps it up, he may end up beating out 7th-round pick Toriano Pride Jr. for the final cornerback spot on the 53-man roster.
3.) EDGE/OLB Mike Danna
At 6-foot-2, 261 pounds, Mike Danna is another big, powerful edge rusher that general manager Brandon Beane loves to have in the more physical modern-day NFL. He will be competing for the final edge spot on the roster, and honestly, he has a solid chance of making it.
Danna made two sacks on one drive and was bothering the Panthers' quarterback all game long. He will look to bring his six seasons and two Super Bowl rings from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Bills to help Brady and this franchise finally win a Super Bowl this season.
4.) EDGE/OLB Javon Solomon
If Danna is looking to be the final edge rusher to make the Bills' 53-man roster, he will have to compete against the 6-foot-1, 246-pound speed rusher Javon Solomon.
Solomon has looked much better this year in the preseason than he did all of 2025. It could be attributed to the aggressive scheme Leonhard is running and its similarity to the scheme at Troy.
The impactful athlete recorded four tackles, showed great lateral movement, and generated pressure on the quarterbacks. While the Bills may have decided to go five deep at edge with four of the starters in place, they could go six deep and keep both Dana and Solomon.
5.) RB Ian Wheeler
Ian Wheeler had an impressive return to the NFL on Saturday, leading the Bills with 41 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. The former UFL United Bowl MVP played in the 2024 preseason with the Chicago Bears before suffering a season-ending torn ACL.
The versatile running back's pro-starting experience last year in the UFL shows his proven ability and can assure coaches of his dependability. There, he rushed for 370 yards on 68 carries in all 10 games, won the United Bowl MVP award, rushing 10 times for 81 yards, and also scored the game-winning go-ahead 44-yard touchdown run.
While usually UFL players don't stay on an NFL roster, Wheeler might be that exception to the rule, as he's still 24 years old just two years after tearing his ACL. This highlights his potential and flexibility as NFL coaches, like bringing on UFL players as depth pieces because they already tend to know how to play the game the right way.
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