Buffalo Bills linebacker Dorian Williams suffered another injury setback during mandatory minicamp Tuesday, renewing concerns just five months after a playoff collision sent him to a local hospital for evaluation.
The timing is particularly troubling for Williams, who had been projected for a significantly expanded role under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard after emerging as one of Buffalo’s most productive linebackers last season.
“Dorian, he did get injured,” said Bills rookie head coach Joe Brady, as quoted by SI.com. “But Dorian’s handling everything the right way and he’ll be ready to go and I’m excited for him.”
But SI.com reporter Alex Brasky added that Brady “wouldn’t confirm whether Williams’ injury occurred during the offseason or if it was a lingering issue from the neck ailment.”
Williams’ January Playoff Injury
Williams was ruled out of Buffalo’s divisional-round playoff game against the Denver Broncos on January 17 after making helmet-to-helmet contact with Broncos returner Marvin Mims Jr. on the opening kickoff, according to ESPN reporter Alaina Getzenberg. He lay on the ground for several minutes as medical personnel surrounded him before he was carted from the field. After undergoing imaging on his neck at the stadium, Williams was transported by ambulance to a local Denver hospital for further evaluation, though he boarded the vehicle under his own power, a reassuring detail amid an otherwise frightening scene.
Williams, a 2023 third-round pick out of Tulane University selected 91st overall, stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 230 pounds. He had not been seen at any of the open OTA practices the Bills held over the previous three weeks, according to media reports covering the offseason program, though he was cleared and present once mandatory minicamp opened June 9. The three-day session runs through Thursday and serves as the final organized team workout before training camp opens in late July.
Williams’ Role in Bills’ 2026 Defense
Williams finished the 2024 regular season with 117 combined tackles across 17 games, starting 11 of them after veteran inside linebacker Matt Milano went down with a preseason biceps injury â a career-best showing that elevated his standing inside the organization. His production shrunk somewhat in 2025, when he logged 63 tackles in 16 regular-season games and nine starts, but Leonhard had been emphatic heading into this offseason that those numbers represented a floor, not a ceiling.
At the conclusion of OTAs late last month, Leonhard offered a clear picture of what he expected from the fourth-year pro.
“Dorian is a guy that’s going to have a huge impact in this defense,” Leonhard said, as quoted by SI.com’s Alex Brasky. The coordinator’s plan called for deploying Williams across multiple alignments in Buffalo’s new 3-4 base scheme, demanding communication and versatility on every snap â the kind of test that could either define Williams as a cornerstone or expose the limits of his game.
“Throw as many things at him as possible,” Leonhard added, according to Brasky. “Make him uncomfortable and force communication, and just trying to find where this makes sense. How fast can they get comfortable to where they’re just playing with violence.”
Williams remains on his rookie deal through the 2026 season, giving the Bills a cost-controlled starter-caliber defender at a position in transition. Alongside inside linebacker Terrel Bernard, he had been expected to anchor the linebacker corps heading into training camp. Tuesday’s setback leaves both that pairing and Leonhard’s defensive rebuild with an unanswered question.
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