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Sep 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Dorian Strong (43) after the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images The Buffalo Bills under general manager/team president Brandon Beane have found quite a few late-round gems in the NFL Draft.
Its been a point of jokingwith some doses of seriousnessthat Beanes late-round draft picks have almost been more effective than his premium picks.
At cornerback, for example, the Bills drafted Christian Benford in the sixth round after already having selected Kaiir Elam in round one back in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Its fortunate that they did, too, because Elam has been a complete bust in his professional career, while Benford has risen to near-stardom in his.
So, when the Bills took a corner in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft and then backed it up with another corner in the sixth round of the same draft, there were some feelings of deja vu among the fanbase.
Especially when the sixth-round pick earned a starting gig in Week One, albeit under much different circumstances, many fans thought that Beane had once again found a late-round steal at corner.
In todays installment of 91 players in 91 days, we discuss that sixth-round steal, a player whose brief time on the field in 2025 stands as a stark reminder of how quickly things can change in the NFL.
_____________________________________________________________________________ Name: Dorian Strong Number: 43 Position: CB Height/Weight: 61 185 lbs.
Age: 23 (24 on 3/14/2027) Experience/Draft: 2; selected by Buffalo in the sixth round (No.
177 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft College: Virginia Tech Acquired: Sixth-round draft choice Financial situation (per Spotrac): Strong enters the second year of his four-year rookie contract, a pact which totals $4,485,356 overall.
Strongs 2026 cap hit is $611,339.
2025 Recap: Strong began his NFL career in such a way that mirrored his name, as he earned a place in the starting lineup for Buffalos season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
This came after a solid preseason where he notched 11 tackles in three exhibition games.
He had two tackles, playing all 51 snaps the Bills took on defense in addition to ten special teams snaps.
Over the next three weeks, Strong played predominantly on special teams, as veteran TreDavious White took over the starting gig opposite Christian Benford.
Strong had two tackles per game in wins over the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins, playing only on special teams in the latter contest.
He then totaled four tackles against the New Orleans Saints in Week Four, but that game turned out to be the last one he would play for the season.
Strong suffered a neck injury during that Week Four game and landed on injured reserve prior to the Bills Week Five loss to the New England Patriots.
Strong remained on injured reserve for the entire season from that point forward.
Positional outlook: Strong is one of nine corners on the current Buffalo roster.
Maxwell Hairston, Christian Benford, Dee Alford, Toriano Pride Jr., TeCory Couch, Kani Walker, Jordan Dunbar, and Davison Igbinosun are the others.
2026 Offseason: Strong had neck surgery in February for what team president/general manager Brandon Beane termed a serious issue.
Strong was spotted at OTAs wearing a neck brace, and the team waived him with an injury designation in June.
That was a procedural move meant to pass him to the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list, and thats exactly what happened.
2026 Season outlook: At this point, its pretty well known that Strong is not going to play in 2026.
There is a distinct possibility that he will never play again, which would be a shame for multiple reasons.
He obviously showed promise as a rookie, but more than that, nobody wants to see such a young person dealing with an injury so life-altering.
If Dorian Strongs NFL career is over, we can only hope that he will at least be able to live a normal life moving forward.
Ive seen questions about why Strong is on the NFI list when his injury quite clearly was a football-related issue.
The best answer I can find is that its semantics: since his injury occurred in a different league year, and the issues he is dealing with are the lingering effects of said injury, the non-football injury list is how teams categorize it for accounting purposes.
Dorian Strongs 2026 season outlook is simple: rest, rehab, and recharge.
We hope the best for him, even if that best outcome involves hanging up his cleats and moving on to a profession that doesnt involve the equivalent of multiple small car wrecks wreaking havoc on the head and neck area each day.