Bills Have More Questions Than Answers at Linebacker With OTAs Underway

The Bills received underwhelming production from their linebackers last season and it's unclear who the team's two starting ILBs will be this season.

Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard eyes in a pass during interception drills during the second day of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University Thursday, July 24, 2025 in Pittsford. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There is much to figure out for the Buffalo Bills at inside linebacker with OTAs well underway in Orchard Park.

With the draft complete and the free-agent pool drying up, the Bills must begin to ask important questions regarding one of the most critical positions in first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s new 3-4 base defense. And it appears the team has more questions than answers when it comes to linebacker at this point in the offseason.

Will Bills’ returning players step up?

Jets fullback Andrew Beck (47) carries the ball for a touchdown defended by Buffalo Bills linebacker Dorian Williams (42) during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Buffalo’s two expected starters at inside linebacker are Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams, two former third-round picks, Bernard in 2022 and Williams in 2023. It would prove to be great drafting by the Bills if it turns out both players transform into plus-level players within Leonhard’s fresh scheme. However, there is reason to worry that either player is capable of a big-time role on a championship-caliber defense.

Bernard has proven to be injury-prone each of the past two seasons, across which he has missed nine regular-season games. His unavailability has not been the only concern, as his production has also lacked. He received a Pro Football Focus overall defense grade of 48.8, which was third among the team’s group of linebackers in 2025. He also recorded a missed tackle rate of 17.9%, which was the highest of his career, per PFF.

That’s not ideal for the Bills’ captain who is supposed to serve as a cornerstone of the team’s resistance.

Williams didn’t fare much better than Bernard when he was on the field as a reserve a season ago. Additionally, his lack of experience as a full-time starter is worrisome for a player who may be handed a starting job this year. The fourth-year pro has never started more than 11 games in a season, doing so in 2024, while his career-high defensive snap share is just 59%, which he achieved the same season.

This past year, Williams played just 47% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps. Asking him to jump to a starting role would be a lot to ask of a player who has spent the start of his career as a backup, a mediocre one at that.

Bernard nor Williams is a favorable option, but they might be the best the Bills have got at this point.

Can a rookie seize control?

TCU Horned Frogs linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr (3) rushes the line during the game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the SMU Mustangs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

If Bernard or Williams, or perhaps both, are incapable of cementing their role in the starting lineup, first-year pro Kaleb Elarms-Orr could step in and steal the show. Elarms-Orr was the Bills’ second of back-to-back selections in the fourth round of the 2026 draft at pick No. 126 overall and carries an impressive skill set that should allow him to catch on quickly with his new team.

Elarms-Orr’s relative athletic score [RAS] of 9.92 out of a possible 10 ranked 26 out of 3,215 linebackers scored from 1987 to 2026, according to RAS.football. That ranking must have the Bills’ defensive coaching staff chomping at the bit to get their hands on Elarms-Orr this season.

Much like Bernard and Williams, he is a bit undersized at 6-foot-2, 234 pounds. But the fifth-rounder’s athleticism is off the charts, which should allow him to make the jump to the pros a bit more seamlessly than most players of his stature. It will be interesting to see how involved he is in the competition for a starting role in his rookie year.

Chances Buffalo re-signs a veteran?

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) is tackled out of bounds by Buffalo Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson (45) during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

There are also a few potential options who remain available on the free-agent market, including Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson, two veterans who spent last season in Buffalo. Both players offered mixed results in 2025, but it could be argued that Thompson was the team’s best LB of the bunch throughout the year.

Thompson finished the 2025 season with 12 games played, including six starts, totaling 56 tackles, six tackles for loss and a sack. Each of those numbers was his highest mark since 2022, while he also recorded an interception during the Bills’ lone postseason win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round.

He is 32 years old, so he isn’t a spring chicken anymore. However, if the Bills want to add a bit of reliability and raise the floor of their linebacker room, Thompson is waiting in the wings to be re-signed as a low-cost option.