Buffalo Rumblings
With a position switch coming, is a big second year going to follow?
The Buffalo Bills recognized that their defensive tackles weren’t good enough last season. Given the heavy level of rotation the team employs at the position, general manager Brandon Beane knew that he had to find quality depth. He invested heavily in the position, drafting two players among the first 100 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft and signing a veteran free agent, as well.
Now, head coach Sean McDermott has plenty of tools at his disposal. The question becomes just how he wants to deploy those tools. Will he use a similar rotation to last season? Will he replace some underwhelming 2024 performers? Or, will he merely add to his tool belt, allowing him to pick and choose which players he uses?
In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss a member of the defensive line whose position might not be as safe as once thought.
Name: DeWayne Carter
Number: 90
Position: DT
Height/Weight: 6’3”, 305 pounds
Age: 24 (25 on 12/10/2025)
Experience/Draft: 2; selected by Buffalo in the third round (No. 95 overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft
College: Duke
Acquired: Third-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Carter enters the second year of his four-year rookie contract, which is worth $5,618,048 overall. For the 2025 season, he carries a cap hit of $1,276,829 if he makes the 53-man roster. Buffalo will carry a dead-cap charge of $662,433 if he’s released or traded.
2024 Recap: Carter was extremely underwhelming as a rookie. He made some splash plays early in the season, notching nine tackles, four tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and a pass knockdown in games against the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and Tennessee Titans. However, in games against the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets, he combined for 89 snaps and totaled just one quarterback hit.
Those first seven games were clearly an up-and-down learning experience for the rookie, and a wrist injury suffered against the Titans didn’t help him continue to gain experience. He landed on Injured Reserve (IR) following Week 7, which caused him to miss five games.
When he returned, he was mostly invisible, as he once again went multiple contests without making a tackle. He was a healthy scratch against the New England Patriots in Week 16, but he played 75 snaps against the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, and New York Jets without so much as registering a single statistic. He started the regular-season finale against the Patriots, notching five tackles, one quarterback hit, and one tackle for loss.
He was a healthy scratch for the duration of the playoffs, as well. Carter finished his rookie year with 14 total tackles, five tackles for loss, one pass breakup, and three quarterback hits.
Positional outlook: Carter is one of nine defensive tackles on the current roster. Marcus Harris, Ed Oliver, T.J. Sanders, Deone Walker, Larry Ogunjobi, Casey Rogers, Zion Logue, and DaQuan...
