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EDITORS NOTE: This is the eighth installment in a series breaking down each position ahead of the opening of Buffalo Bills training camp July 29.
ORCHARD PARK As training camp nears, Matt Milano remains a free agent.
Yet the Buffalo Bills linebackers still have the same concerns.
Injuries.
The unit, specifically starters Milano and Terrel Bernard, took a beating over the previous three seasons.
Bills linebackers have missed a total of 53 games to injury since 2023, with Bernard and Milano accounting for 36 of them.
The value of off-ball linebackers across the NFL has diminished and its no longer considered a premium position.
But its hard for any defense to sustain success with that many injuries on the second level.
Thats why Milano is still on the street.
The Bills could no longer count him to be available.
And the same concerns may be growing louder for Bernard, the teams defensive captain who endured hamstring, ankle, elbow and calf injuries last season and wasnt a full participant in the spring due to offseason ankle surgery.
To pile on, Milanos expected replacement, Dorian Williams, injured his neck during the AFC divisional round loss to the Denver Broncos.
He missed all of spring with an undisclosed injury and was seen in the team facility on crutches.
Ive grown up a certain way and kind of came under a certain brand of, If Im able to go, Im going to go, Bernard said.
Honestly, realizing now thats not always the best-case scenario for the team and for myself.
Thats a learning area for me.
The expected battle between Williams and fourth-round pick Kaleb Elarms-Orr to start next to Bernard should gobble plenty of oxygen during training camp, but Bernards health is the bigger story.
Hes missed 16 games since becoming a starter in 2023 and has endured hamstring injuries in each of the last three camps.
This time the Bills dont have a reliable safety net.
Shaq Thompson is also still a free agent despite expressing his desire to return as a starter.
Thompson was a valuable addition on the field and gained instant respect in the locker room, but hes 32 with an extensive injury history of his own, including missing four games last season.
Milano and Thompson could be options if injuries begin to pile up again, but it appears new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard wants to move in a new direction.
So its pertinent for Bernard to get snaps during training camp, not just because hes the signal caller for a new defense, but to get acclimated to football again.
Because, frankly, when Bernard played last year, he wasnt very good.
Whether it was injuries or the previous coaching staff overcomplicating the defense, Bernard wasnt at his best.
There were many times when he was still relaying signals at the snap and appeared out of position after it.
The Bills believe Elarms-Orr can eventually become a signal caller, but maybe not right away.
That makes Bernards performance even more critical.
It was probably my hardest year as a football player, to be honest, Bernard said.
Battling through injuries, not feeling like myself for most of the year, trying to come back and then having something else pop up.
I tried to do the best that I could to still be a leader and still be out in front and still be who I am, but it does take a toll on you.
It was a tough year for me, but Im trying to flush it.
Training camp battles Rostered inside linebackers (7): Joe Andreessen, Terrel Bernard, Jimmy Ciarlo, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Theron Gaines, Keonta Jenkins, Dorian Williams.
Who starts next to Bernard will come down to the player who can play three downs.
Williams has shown promise in his first three seasons, but not enough to be a three-down player.
Even when Williams started 11 games in place of Milano in 2024, leading the team with 117 tackles, the Bills didnt trust him enough to play obvious passing downs aside from being a quarterback spy.
Elarms-Orr is a comparable player to Williams when the Bills made him a third-round pick in 2023.
Although Leonhard spoke glowingly about Elarms-Orr during the spring, assistant general manager Brian Gaine called Elarms-Orr a pipeline player.
Regardless of who wins the job, it wouldnt be surprising to see both get playing time throughout the season.
The Bills clearly saw enough in both of them not to use a high draft pick or allocate money in free agency to another starter.
There will also be battles down the roster.
Joe Andreessen wasnt in jeopardy of missing the roster last year but theres an outside chance he will have some competition this season.
Second-year player Keonta Jenkins was making a push toward the 53-man bubble last season before getting injured late in training camp.
He was a practice-squad call-up the first two weeks before suffering another injury.
A former hybrid linebacker and safety at Virginia Tech, Jenkins has the versatility the Bills love.
He should be a strong contender to make the roster this season.
The Bills also signed Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who has six years of experience, playing in 83 games for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants.
Flannigan-Fowles has just 10 starts, but carved a role as an NFL special teams player.
Jimmy Ciarlo, last years training camp darling, made a late push for the practice squad and was eventually signed for one game and released.
He re-signed during the offseason and could be a valuable special teams player.
But it might take some injuries and a fantastic camp for Ciarlo to have a legitimate chance to make the roster.