Training camp kicks off for the Buffalo Bills this week and the team will start their long journey that is the 2026 season. It’s a new era that the Bills are heading into, with it being the first time in nine years where it won’t be Sean McDermott leading the team. It’s Joe Brady’s team now, and there have been a bunch of changes that were made.
When the changes were happening, there were only a few select scenarios that definitely wouldn’t happen. However, there were more questions than answers throughout the offseason when it came to what this roster would look like. Fans will now see everything happen this week during training camp, which could then lead to who is fighting for a roster spot.
One player heading into training camp is defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, who hasn’t lived up to his 3rd-round expectations. The Bills drafted him surprisingly in the 3rd round of the 2024 NFL Draft, in which you would expect to contribute heavily sooner than later. Well, it’s been the opposite to start out his career.
In his rookie season, Carter registered just 14 total tackles in 11 games (was put on the IR during the season), and he didn’t play one snap in the playoffs. Then before his 2025 season could start, it ended in training camp when he tore his Achilles. Now he will be looking to show this new coaching regime what he can be in 2026, but it won't be easy.
DeWayne Carter must overcome doubts about what he can bring to Bills
Even though the Bills didn’t make any significant additions to their defensive line, switching to a 3-4 scheme puts pressure on Carter since there will only be one true nose tackle on the field. It’s no longer a 4-3 which meant that there were two defensive tackles on the field.
Carter is already behind Ed Oliver (of course), but he’s also behind Deone Walker, T.J. Sanders, and I would even argue that Phidarian Mathis who has proven to be an average run-stopper is ahead of Carter.
Maybe having Jim Leonhard as his new defensive coordinator is exactly what Carter needs, especially in a more aggressive scheme. At the same time, Carter is entering the technically third year of his career (only second playing), and we haven’t seen anything significant that could make us think that he definitely deserves a roster spot.
Now, with the way the Bills have operated in the past, since Carter is on a rookie deal at a position that the Bills need a lot of help at, he should definitely be on the roster. However, if Carter fails to impress in training camp and he falls behind the rest of the other guys, it makes you wonder if his days in Buffalo are limited.
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