Trades are quickly picking up across the NFL as the regular season approaches.
As the league's 32 teams figure out their ideal 53-man rosters, lots of useful players are finding themselves on the wrong end of the depth chart. Could that be the case for one Buffalo Bills defensive lineman?
The Bills' third-round pick last year, defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, played in 11 games a season ago, starting three of them. But with stiff competition for playing time after two more defensive tackles joined the Bills in this draft class, one football writer believe Carter could be on the outside looking in.
On Thursday, Eric Edholm of NFL.com listed Carter as a preseason trade candidate, speculating that he could be losing the current roster battle to newcomers T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker.
"A 2024 third-round pick, Carter found himself playing far deeper into the last preseason game against the Bears than either of the Bills' two rookie defensive tackles," wrote Edholm.
"That might be an indication of a lower spot on Buffalo's depth chart for Carter, even with Larry Ogunjobi (who doesn't appear guaranteed to make this team, for what it's worth) set to miss the first six weeks of the season with a suspension. If the Bills could get something in return for Carter, perhaps from a DL-needy team such as the (San Francisco) 49ers, they might be willing to loosen up the logjam at the position a bit."
Carter, a 24-year-old Duke product, did not record a sack last season, but he did rack up five tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. He recorded two tackles in the Bills' preseason opener against the New York Giants, then none in their second game against the Chicago Bears.
The Bills' final preseason game is slated for Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Soon thereafter, we'll know if Carter remains in the team's long-term plans.
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