As the Buffalo Bills announced their initial 53-man roster earlier this week, one of the popular topics focused on third year defensive tackle DeWayne Carter. Fans will recall that Carter was placed on injured reserve prior to the start of the 2025 season, missing the entire year with a torn Achilles.
There is always plenty of conversation around who will make the 53-man roster, and Carter was understandably at the center of the defensive tackle discussion. In addition to coming back from an injury,
there is a new defensive coaching staff in place that is being led by Jim Leonhard this season. It is understandable that there would be plenty to discuss, especially as Carter had a bit of an uneven rookie season while appearing in 11 games for the Bills.
Carter has now added 20 pounds in order to play nose tackle for the Bills, and can be seen as an option to back-up Deone Walker in the middle of the defensive line. When I take all of these factors into consideration, I am OK with being a bit patient with Carrter this season. When coming off a season ending injury, while playing for a new coach, and transforming your body to play a new position – I can give you a bit of grace for this season.
With that said, Carter will need to show incremental improvement as he transitions to more of a nose tackle position this season. Getting a jersey on gameday may be a bit of a challenge early this season with the recent signing of Greg Gaines, and it remains to be seen which of the two will serve as Walker’s primary backup. But as I mentioned earlier, the Bills can take some time to develop Carter as he continues his recovery and transformation.
I know that some of our readers may feel differently on this subject, so feel free to weigh in below in the comments section.
