Tempers flared at Buffalo Bills training camp on August 4, 2026, when a routine practice play quickly escalated into a brawl. When the dust settled, offensive lineman Alec Anderson made it crystal clear that he had zero regrets about stepping into the fray to defend his teammate. 

“I was in on that last one when Dalton got hit,” Anderson told the media after practice, via Buffalo Plus’ Dan Fetes. “We had a nice little scuffle, shout out to the rookie, Kaleb. I didn’t enjoy him hitting our guy after the whistle, but I enjoyed punching him in the face a couple times and choking him out. So, that’s always enjoyable.

“It was great. … Really gets the blood pumping, everything flowing. I just like going out there and being able to hear the pads thud, and every now and then a fight happens. It kind of builds the resiliency and the grittiness of the team, and I think that we need that.” 

The brawl erupted after Elarms-Orr delivered a late hit on Pro Bowl tight end Dalton Kincaid well after a reception. Kincaid caught the pass, went down, and got back up, according to The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia. But Elarms-Orr came in and leveled the tight end back to the ground, thinking he was still down, prompting the offense to get involved. Buscaglia mentioned that Anderson was one of the first to get involved.

“Dalton is my boy. You never want to see that happen,” right tackle Spencer Brown added. “He’s important in the offense. So, you wanna take care of him. But the flip side of it, I don’t mind seeing a little piss and vinegar coming out of the rookies.” 

In his quest to stand out, Elarms-Orr played with the kind of physical edge and speed that defensive coaches love, but he failed to recognize where the whistle ended and unnecessary risk began. The fourth-round pick out of TCU is undoubtedly fast and aggressive. But for now, he’s fighting for a spot on the roster. And the incident was nothing but an accident. 

“I was just running to the ball, people said he already went down but I didn’t see him go down,” Elarms-Orr noted. “I was in my drop and I saw him spin and I thought he was still up and I just hit him.”  

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady did not like what he saw. He and Elarms-Orr were seen talking afterwards.

Later on, Anderson admitted that “fighting wasn’t the best idea.” However, he also claimed that there are times when one can’t avoid it. While coaches prefer to avoid injury-risking brawls on the practice field, the intensity of Buffalo’s summer practices shows a team playing with the grit and edge required for a long NFL season. 

Kaleb Elarms-Orr was set to compete for a roster spot. However, with starter Dorian Williams still dealing with an injury, a bigger opportunity has opened up for Elarms-Orr. According to ESPN Bills insider Alaina Getzenberg, the rookie could also end up being a starter. It’s a job he’s wanted since the beginning.

“I wanna be the starter week one; I want to earn it,” he said in June. “I want to be a guy who comes in and earns everyone’s respect.”

Channel that energy the right way, and Kaleb Elarms-Orr could genuinely be in the running for that job.