Bills Central

Buffalo Bills DT displays inspiring progress in recovery from significant injury

The Bills suffered from many injuries up front defensively during the 2025 campaign.
Alex Brasky|
Bills defensive tackle DeWayne Carter splits between Austin Johnson, left, and Ed Oliver during defensive line drills.
Bills defensive tackle DeWayne Carter splits between Austin Johnson, left, and Ed Oliver during defensive line drills. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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One of the most depleted areas of the Buffalo Bills’ banged-up roster during the 2025 season was its defensive line.

With several players lost for extended periods due to respective season-ending injuries, the Bills were forced to dig deep into their depth throughout the year, and it cost them in some key situations.

With that said, with the ’25 campaign now in the rearview mirror, there is hope that one of the team’s ailing defensive tackles could be nearing a comeback. Former third-round pick DeWayne Carter was lost for the year before the regular season even began due to a torn Achilles tendon. But after several months on the mend, he has recently shown encouraging progress as he takes on his recovery.

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DeWayne Carter
Buffalo Bills defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (90) looks on after a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Inspiring effort

In a video posted to his Instagram story, Carter was seen performing various exercises, including agility work and weight lifting, while also posting an image that clearly displays his surgical scar and muscular structure on his injured leg.

Injury expert Dr. Kyle Trimble of Banged Up Bills provided his analysis of Carter’s progress.

“Everything looks really great at this stage,” posted Dr. Trimble to his X account. “Still got more work to do to be football ready, muscle symmetry improving.”

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Working back

Carter was declared out for the season after sustaining his injury during a practice in August. He was subsequently placed on Injured Reserve before the Bills took the field for their season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

The 25-year-old appeared in 11 games for the Bills during his rookie season in 2024, which was also marred by injury. He was expected to compete for a substantial role in his second professional season with 2025 draft picks T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker. Now that those two young players have established themselves over this past year, it remains unclear what the future holds for Carter, who is contractually tied to the team through the 2027 season.

Ed Oliver, another Bills’ defensive tackle who sustained significant ailments throughout the ’25 campaign, is due back in 2026, while veteran DaQuan Jones is set to hit the market as a free agent. That leaves the Bills with Carter, Oliver, Sanders and Walker, along with those signed to reserves/futures deals — Tommy Akingbesote and Zion Logue — at the position entering the offseason.

DeWayne Carter
Bills defensive tackle DeWayne Carter heads to the field on the opening day of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher Universtiy. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Alex Brasky
ALEX BRASKY

Alex Brasky is editor of Bills Digest and host of the Buffalo Pregame podcast. He has been on the Bills beat the past six seasons and now joins Sports Illustrated hoping to expand his coverage of Buffalo’s favorite football team.

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