The Buffalo Bills kick off training camp on July 29 at St. John Fisher. This moves the team into the next major phase of the offseason ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
Ahead of then, Bills Wire will examine every position group ahead of this pivotal time on the football calendar.
This edition will focus on the Bills' linebacker room:
At the top of the chart
The Bills shift into a 3-4 defensive scheme. This switch in base defense means some palyer sneed to move around and take on new roles.
Greg Rousseau will slide into an outside linebacker position. Rousseau has played as a traditional defensive end since entering the NFL. Now, he will attack from a standing position. The former first-round pick led the Bills with seven sacks last year. Free agent acquisition Bradley Chubb
will join Rousseau. Chubb returned from a torn ACL, missing the entire 2024 season, to have a solid bounce-back season last year. Chubb played in all 17 games, recording 8.5 sacks and 47 tackles.
For the first time since the Rex Ryan era, the Bills will employ two inside linebackers. Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams have the inside track as the starters. Bernard has missed some time with injury issues in the past. The duo is a bit undersized from the traditional standpoint of an inside linebacker.
Depth chart
Buffalo added two linebackers in this April's draft. Buffalo's first pick, second-round draftee TJ Parker, will play a rotational role on the outside. Fourth-round selection Kaleb Elarms-Orr will battle for snaps as an inside linebacker.
The Bills also have Michael Hoecht, a 2025 free agent who stood out in limited time on the field. Hoecht missed the first third of the season due to a suspension. He came back and showed out as a spectacular signing, only to tear his ACL in his second game in a Buffalo uniform.
Buffalo also sports inside linebackers Joe Andreessen, Jimmy Ciarlo, Keonta Jenkins, Demetrious Flannigan-Fowles, and Theron Gaines on the roster. Andreessen stood out as a special teams player, so he has the best chance of the bunch to find the 53-man roster.
On the outside, the Bills have Javon Solomon, Mike Danna, Cade Denhoff, and Andre Jones Jr. battling for playing time.
Battles to watch
Kaleb Elarms-Orr is an intriguing prospect to examine. He is an athletic linebacker who could push Williams for playing time.
The Bills have eight spots that seem to be fairly certain to make the roster. Depending on how many linebackers the team rosters, the final one or two spots will be a battle. This unit is a major source of uncertainty on the roster, so this group will be a focus point to focus on this summer.
Who needs a great camp?
Dorian Williams has the best chance at being promoted to starting duties. Elarms-Orr and Andreessen are basically the only challenges to Williams starting in Week 1. However, Williams has to show he can be the player who can work as a full-time starter in a new defensive scheme. If not, Elarms-Orr could usurp the position.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 2026 Buffalo Bills training camp preview: Linebackers
