Five Bills Veterans With Most on the Line at Training Camp

Minicamp and OTAs are in the books, meaning the Buffalo Bills have their sights set on training camp.

When the team takes the field at St. John Fisher University in late July, several Bills veterans will either be left fighting for their jobs. A new crop of talent has been welcomed into the fold this offseason, which has placed a bit of pressure off on a few experienced pros, including Alec Anderson.

Anderson will compete with free-agent addition Austin Corbett for a role as the Bills’ starting left guard following the offseason departure of former first-teamer David Edwards. Edwards agreed to terms on a four-year, $61 million contract with the New Orleans Saints on Mar. 11, leaving Anderson first in line to succeed him in the starting lineup.

However, the Bills signed Corbett to a one-year, $1.4 million deal on Mar. 26 and injecting him into the team’s offensive line group suddenly created a true competition for the spot atop the depth chart. Corbett is a ninth-year pro who has started 78 games over the course of his career and won’t be an easy out for Anderson.

Anderson has been with the Bills since 2022, when the team brought him in as an undrafted free agent and his presence in the locker room has proven valuable, providing the Bills with an aggressive edge that the coaching staff has described as “Bills red” this offseason.

His rise began as a key cog in the team’s jumbo package in 2024, when he played 190 snaps as an inline tight end. He’s also served as a solid spot starter throughout his career, making six starts and playing in each of the Bills’ 34 regular-season games over the past two years.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but Anderson could seal the deal if he is able to prove himself capable of a heavier workload throughout the team’s time at training camp, which is expected to begin on July 29.

Keon Coleman, wide receiver

Not only is Coleman coming off a down year in what was expected to be a breakout season for the 2024 second-round pick, but the Bills brought in additional firepower at the wide receiver position which has made his path to receiving an ample workload this season a bit more rocky.

The offseason trade for DJ Moore, which sent a second-round pick to the Chicago Bears on Mar. 5, along with the second-round selection of Skyler Bell at pick No. 125 overall has brought Coleman’s spot on the depth chart into question. While his head coach and the Bills’ general manager have each asserted Coleman will receive a fresh start as the Bills enter a new era, but it remains to be seen if the 23-year-old can stem the tide and cement his position in the pecking order of Buffalo’s pass catchers.

Coleman finished the 2025 season with just 404 yards receiving, which were 152 fewer than he amassed a year before despite playing in the same number of games. His rate of 10.6 yards per reception fell off a cliff, dropping by 8.6 yards year-to-year.

Additionally, Coleman was benched multiple times after it was revealed he was late to team meetings. So, not only was he ineffective, he was untrustworthy.

Beginning at training camp, Coleman will have to be perfect off the field while showing signs of progression on the field if he hopes to lock down a role as a contributor within Buffalo’s passing game.

Tyler Bass, kicker

As I wrote previously, Bass has not kicked in front of the media throughout the Bills’ offseason program, which is a bit concerning, given what he went through a season ago.

Bass sustained hip and groin injuries during training camp which ultimately proved to be related to a sports hernia, leading to his placement on Injured Reserve on Sept. 5, which caused him to miss the entire 2025 season. Buffalo had brought in another kicker, Maddox Trujillo, at the outset of the offseason, but he was later waived on May 12, leaving Bass as the only kicker on the Bills’ roster.

If the Bills plan to move forward with Bass as their lone kicker entering training camp, there will be a lot on the line for the seventh-year pro, who has never had a season with quite as much success as his replacement did last year. Matt Prater, who is 41 years old. Prater’s 90% field goal percentage was better than any season of Bass’ career.

If Bass struggles at all, Bills fans will be clamoring for the team to bring Prater back for another year.

Dorian Williams, linebacker

With the Bills electing not to re-sign both Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson at this stage of the offseason, Williams appeared to have a leg up in his pursuit for a starting role for the first time in his four-year career. However, after an offseason injury thwarted his progress and kept him off the field for the team’s offseason workout program, Williams will now, at the very least, have to compete with fourth-round rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr, selected at pick No. 126 overall, for a spot on the first-team defense.

Williams proved in 2024 he could handle a heavier workload, when he started 11 games and finished the year as the Bills’ leading tackler with 117 tackles. He also started nine games a year ago, but offered mixed results, finishing with a Pro Football Focus overall defense grade of 55.3, which was ranked 59th among 88 linebackers graded in 2025.

Elarms-Orr has already claimed it’s his goal to finish training camp as a starter, which creates an all-out competition to become the Bills’ second inside linebacker alongside captain and incumbent starter Terrel Bernard. If Williams can get healthy by then, that is. Both the nature of his injury and timeline for return both remain unclear with a month and a half to go until camp.

DeWayne Carter, defensive tackle

Carter may not be at the forefront of Bills fans’ minds, given the fact he has failed to significantly impact Buffalo’s defensive effort through his first two professional seasons. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the team cut bait on their 2024 third round pick before the start of the regular season.

His contract is set to expire next season and it wouldn’t cost the Bills much at all to let him go. Carter carries a dead-cap hit $441,622 this season while holding a cap hit of $1.5 million. Cutting him wouldn’t be a source of massive cap savings, but if he fails to shine at St. John Fisher University, he could be on the outside looking in at a potential roster spot by summer’s end.

Carter previously declared this offseason he has made a considerable effort to bulk up in hopes of providing a stronger punch from his defensive tackle position. However, he will have to beat out a list of players, including Phidarian Mathis and Zion Logue, for playing time if he hopes to have a chance to prove himself during the regular season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google