The Buffalo Bills opened training camp at St. John Fisher University on Wednesday, and with the first real practice of the 2026 season came the first real answers about a spring full of unexplained absences.
The biggest one belonged to Dorian Williams, who head coach Joe Brady noted had an undisclosed injury in early June. We now know what it was.
The fourth-year linebacker told reporters he suffered a knee fracture during OTAs — the injury that quietly limited him through May and June while the rest of Jim Leonhard's defense installed a brand-new 3-4 base scheme around him. Williams didn't treat it as a crisis. He said he "feels good to go" as camp opens per News 4 Buffalo, and while he was limited in Wednesday's session, the designation now
has a cause attached to it.
Bills LB Dorian Williams was on the field on Day 1 training camp.
— Carl Jones (@Jones11_) July 29, 2026
He told reporters after practice that he suffered a 'bilateral knee fracture' during OTAs. pic.twitter.com/VmOA8gZrZU
Leonhard's arrival as defensive coordinator represents the most significant structural change to Buffalo's defense in nearly a decade. One that's currently without veteran starter and free agent Matt Milano, and one that Williams needs to acclimate to.
The Bills are moving to a 3-4 base — new fronts, new gap responsibilities, new terminology, new second-level reads for the off-ball linebackers. OTAs and minicamp are precisely when that language gets learned, and Williams spent them rehabbing a fractured knee.
That's how a competition gets away from a player before camp even starts.
This matters because Brandon Beane has mentioned that rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr was the first guy through the door at that linebacker spot. He took the reps Williams couldn't, in the scheme Williams needed most to absorb.
That leaves Williams competing alongside Joe Andreessen for the job next to Terrel Bernard, the one linebacker spot in Leonhard's front that is presently a lock.
Williams, 25, is also entering the final year of his rookie contract.
The 3-4 switch is, in theory, good news for him — more off-ball linebacker snaps exist in Leonhard's base than existed in the old four-man front. But room only helps the players healthy enough to claim it.
Williams is working toward being one of them.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Injury update for Bills' Dorian Williams after he was hurt this spring
