Sean McDermott To Make Double Roster Move After Bills DT suffers season Ending Injury

The Buffalo Bills’ defensive line depth has already been pushed to the edge. With Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi serving six-game suspensions, Sean McDermott now faces another massive blow. With the season opener against the Ravens, whatever needs to be done should be done sooner rather than later. Promising rookie DeWayne Carter went down in practice on the 27th August with a torn Achilles. Ending his season before it even began. That’s three losses at a single position before Week 1. Leaving Bills Mafia anxious about how their head coach plans to patch up the holes.

Meanwhile, instead of feeling bad about his rookie campaign getting cut short, Carter delivered a message that fired up the fanbase. “This is all a part of my testimony. I will be back. ✝ John 13:7,” he wrote, showing his unshakable faith and resilience. For a guy who already battled through setbacks in college, this injury is just another chapter in his story. Bills fans couldn’t help but rally around his words, taking comfort in the grit of their young defensive tackle. Carter has appeared in 11 games so far for the Bills as a rookie in 2024, drafted in the third round. With 14 tackles, of which 5 were for loss, he also had 3 QB hits.

However, McDermott has no option but to act quickly. Bills insider Sal Capaccio explained, “I’d anticipate DT DeWayne Carter going on IR this week and an active spot to come open.” With surgery setting Carter on a nine-to-12 month recovery, the rookie’s absence leaves just four defensive tackles on the 53-man roster—two of them still wet behind the ears. For a team built on defensive rotation, it’s not enough for the entire NFL season.

Therefore, the Bills will probably reinforce their team. The team will almost certainly elevate a body from the practice squad to hold the fort until Ogunjobi’s suspension runs out. So, the question becomes who fills those spots. Veteran Jordan Phillips is the obvious candidate, but the 31-year-old still has to get into better football shape after re-signing less than a week ago. Rookie Zion Logue offers potential but little experience, while Casey Rogers is another intriguing option. After Giants waived Rogers in May, he practiced with Buffalo before being cut.

However, McDermott isn’t backing down. Amid this setback, he has fixed another roster problem, and the Super Bowl is now everyone’s focus.

Sean McDermott resolves final Buffalo Bills roster issue

Sean McDermott has spent years answering the same criticism—Buffalo’s interior pass rush never showed up when it mattered most, especially against the bigger teams. From playoff heartbreaks to crunch-time collapses, the Bills’ defense always looked a step short against elite quarterbacks. But now, after smart moves and roster fine-tuning, those questions seem to have an answer, finally: T.J. Sanders.

Drafted 41st overall, Sanders wasted no time proving his worth. He bullied veteran offensive linemen in preseason snaps and earned heavy reps next to Ed Oliver on obvious passing downs. At the same time, McDermott doubled down on leadership by bringing back an old friend. Veteran safety Jordan Poyer, cut during last year’s cap purge and briefly a Dolphin, rejoined Buffalo’s practice squad and immediately gave the locker room a voice it had been missing.

Moreover, Poyer’s signing wasn’t some nostalgia play. McDermott clearly sees him as a stabilizing bridge while the younger safeties develop into full-time starters. Paired with Sanders’ preseason performance, those two additions might be the final touch McDermott needed to fix what plagued this defense for half a decade. And with the offense looking dangerous, the timing couldn’t be better.

In fact, Josh Allen now has a supporting cast that feels battle-tested. James Cook inked a four-year, $48 million deal to stay in Buffalo, giving the backfield a spark. Meanwhile, the front office went big on defense, landing Joey Bosa and Michael Hoecht, while also shoring up the secondary with Tre’Davious White and Maxwell Hairston, who is on injury reserve now.

Altogether, continuity plus upgrades have left Bills Mafia buzzing. By plugging his last defensive gap, McDermott finally gets to shift from roster repairs to playoff execution. And with Allen steering one of the league’s most complete squads, Buffalo enters 2025 with just one goal—to hoist the Lombardi and deliver a long-awaited Super Bowl.