Early Signs Point to Major Role for Bills Rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr After Minicamp

With a month and a half to go until training camp, early signs are pointing toward rookie linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr have a significant impact on the Buffalo Bills’ defense this season.

After Dorian Williams sustained an offseason injury that sidelined him throughout the team’s workout program, Elarms-Orr now appears to be the frontrunner to lock down a starting role at inside linebacker in Year 1.

Elarms-Orr was selected by the Bills with the No. 126 overall pick in the fourth round and it was initially believed he would enter his first professional season as a backup. But as is often the case in the NFL, things change quickly, and right now, Elarms-Orr’s best ability is availability as Williams works his way back to action.

There is no timetable for Wiliams’ return, although first-year head coach Joe Brady said previously that the expectation was the former third-round pick would return in time for training camp. However, there are no guarantees when it comes to significant injuries, which could mean Williams beginning the season on the PUP list, requiring players to miss their team’s first four games of the season.

If that’s the case, Elarms-Orr would be all but guaranteed a spot on the first-team defense entering Week 1.

Elarms-Orr is ready for his opportunity

Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano (58) reacts after a sack against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Earlier this offseason, Elarms-Orr expressed his desire to assume a starting role in his first year with the Bills.

“I wanna be the starter Week 1,” he said to WHEC’s Ian Mills. “I wanna be a guy that comes in and earns everybody’s respect and the coaches’ respect. Not only the respect, but the trust, the ability to be the guy Week 1.”

That sounds like a player confident in his ability after starting 47 games throughout his four-year college career between stops at Cal and TCU. In his final year at the college level, the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder exploded for a career-high 130 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss and four sacks.

The Bills have lacked a true game-changer at the linebacker position since former Bills LB Matt Milano’s All-Pro season in 2022. Milano currently remains a free agent.

If Elarms-Orr can transition his game to the professional level, Buffalo could have another good one on their hands.

Milano was also a diamond in the rough, selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. If Elarms-Orr can develop into a similar level talent, that would be a feather in the cap of general manager/president of football operations Brandon Beane.

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