Bills HC Sean McDermott gives update on rookie DT’s status following wrist surgery

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott spoke about defensive tackle DeWayne Carter's 2024 status after his recent wrist surgery.

Kyle Silagyi | Nov 1, 2024

Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Buffalo Bills are optimistic that rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter will play again this season after recently undergoing wrist surgery. Head coach Sean McDermott provided an encouraging update on the 23-year-old’s 2024 status during his Friday media availability.

“I would hope [he can return this year],” McDermott said. “He just got back from the surgery process and seems to be in good spirits. I think, like anything else, we’ll just monitor it as we go week to week and see where it takes us.”

Carter, whom the Bills selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, suffered a wrist injury late in the team’s Week 7 win over the Tennessee Titans. McDermott told reporters in the days following the game that the defender’s ailment required surgery and was set to keep him out for “multiple weeks;” he was placed on injured reserve shortly thereafter.

The rookie had seen his play steadily improve throughout the 2024 season after experiencing some early growing pains, playing on between 46% and 54% of the team’s defensive snaps from Weeks 4–7. He had recorded nine tackles, seven run stops, and five quarterback pressures prior to suffering his injury, per PFF, with his most impressive plays being a Week 4 goalline stop on Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry and a Week 7 fourth-down tackle against the Tennessee Titans.

It was discouraging to see an ascending Carter suffer a significant injury at a key stage in his development, but the Bills seem to believe he’ll have the opportunity to build on his early promise later this season. He's eligible to be activated off injured reserve after the team's Week 11 clash with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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