What's Bills’ Plan When Injured DT Deone Walker Is Unavailable

Deone Walker looks primed for a breakout sophomore campaign. But if he’s unavailable, what is the Buffalo Bills’ plan behind him?

The 6-foot-7, 331-pound DT is projected to be the nose tackle in the Bills’ new 3-4 defense under defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. But on Monday, he was withheld from team drills, only working with trainers in a limited capacity.

There’s no confirmation as to what exactly the injury is, but from reports, it appears to be regarding his left arm. Whether it’s his hand, wrist or elbow is to be determined.

Deone Walker worked off to the side on Monday with trainers. It's unknown what his injury is at this time.

However he's wearing a sleeve on his left arm and was not wearing one on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/PBYXqE7PMb
— Carl Jones (@Jones11_) August 3, 2026

Nose tackle depth

So, what if Walker were to go on the shelf? Thankfully, Leonhard has a plan in place to get the group ready behind Walker, too.

“DeWayne Carter, what is his role?” said Leonhard after practice last week Wednesday. "Phidarian Mathis. There’s a lot of guys that are gonna be moving around. We want to see how many snaps we think they can function in, in different roles for us."

Mathis got the first crack at nose on Monday, so this will be something to monitor as Walker nurses his injury.

Deone Walker and DeWayne Carter got the first reps at nose tackle Wednesday for the Bills.

What does Jim Leonhard want to see at that spot once the pads come on? pic.twitter.com/kFYScX8zZ0
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) July 30, 2026

DeWayne Carter

The forgotten man in the Buffalo d-line room, Carter has been limited to just 11 games played since being drafted in 2024. It's almost unfair to call him a bust, especially coming off a missed 2025 season due to a torn Achilles.

He talked about the injury and fighting through the mental hurdles after what felt like "doomsday."

"Coming back, being able to compete at that same level," said Carter in an interview with WGRZ's Jonathan Acosta. "Getting that step back, that quickness, that lateral mobility. It's just so many things that go into recovery."

But the third-year man out of Duke is healthy again and has gained 23 pounds this offseason to contribute more snaps at nose.

"Your initial thoughts are doomsday."

It's been a long road back on to the field for #Bills DL DeWayne Carter.

An achilles injury last August. Missed all of the '25 season. He'd never gone a full year without playing sports.

Full story on Carter's recovery journey Wed. @WGRZ pic.twitter.com/9X2SMVnQe8
— Jonathan Acosta (@JAcostaTV) August 3, 2026

Phidarian Mathis

Mathis may have been the biggest hidden gem in the Bills' defense in 2025. Even though he only played 120 snaps across six games, Mathis showed he was a capable defensive tackle.

But how impactful can he be with extended snaps?

Mathis has never played more than 260 defensive snaps in a season spanning his career with Buffalo or Washington.

He does, however, have experience playing nose duing his stint with the Commanders. So, it would not be a completely new role for him if he were to step into the lineup in Walker's absence.

Phidarian Mathis at NT (0 tech) pic.twitter.com/Sb5iE6n8fM
— The Film Room (@Cover1FilmRoom) April 30, 2026

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