Is the special teams mainstay safe in the final year of his rookie contract?
The Buffalo Bills have dealt with a litany of injuries at the linebacker spot over the last two seasons. Generally, they only play two linebackers at a time so, in theory, the team should have plenty of depth there given the lack of players on the field at once. However, that depth has been tested often, and it’s fair to wonder whether the team has been too reliant on hoping for the good health within the top of its depth chart at times.
Heading into last season, Buffalo tried to bolster the linebacker spot by adding bodies in training camp. This offseason, the team has just seven linebackers on the 90-man roster, and three of them have been extremely injury-prone throughout the last few seasons.
Is this a recipe for disaster? Are the Bills finally due for some long-term health at the middle level of its defense? Given the reps their depth players have seen of late, is it safe to say that Buffalo’s linebacker group is sufficiently stocked for a title run?
In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we profile a long-term backup and special teams stalwart who’s looking to stay healthy in 2025.
Name: Baylon Spector
Number: 54
Position: LB
Height/Weight: 6’, 233 pounds
Age: 26 (27 on 10/20/2025)
Experience/Draft: 4; selected by Buffalo in the seventh round (No. 231 overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft
College: Clemson
Acquired: Seventh-round draft pick
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Spector enters the final year of his four-year, $3,763,724 rookie contract. For the 2025 season, he carries a cap hit of $1,125,931 if he makes the 53-man roster. If Buffalo releases him, they will be responsible for a dead-cap charge of $25,931.
2024 Recap: Spector began the season by playing zero defensive snaps in Buffalo’s Week 1 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. That he was active was a good sign, though, as he dealt with a calf injury throughout the preseason.
Thanks to an injury to middle linebacker Terrel Bernard, he was pressed into duty on defense the following week against the Miami Dolphins, and he had a massive game. Spector racked up 10 tackles, including one for a loss, on 62 defensive snaps in the 31-10 romp. He started the next two games, totaling 12 tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery.
Spector returned to the bench when Bernard returned to the lineup, but when Bernard was injured again three weeks later, Spector re-entered the starting lineup in Buffalo’s victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
It was back to the bench the following week when Buffalo and Miami met again, but Spector injured his calf playing special teams, which necessitated a trip to Injured Reserve (IR). He returned against the Detroit Lions in Week 15, and then started the following week against the New England Patriots. However, the calf injury resurfaced, and he finished the season on IR. Spector totaled 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two tackles for loss on the year.
Positional outlook: As mentioned above, Spector is one of seven linebackers on the current roster. Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano, Dorian Williams, Joe Andreessen, Edefuan Ulofoshio, and Shaq Thompson are the others.
2025 Offseason: Spector was unable to participate in practices during the first week of June due to an undisclosed injury. He was able to participate in mandatory minicamp the following week, however.
2025 Season outlook: Spector is a solid special teams contributor whose limitations in pass coverage have been exposed time and again when he’s pressed into duty on defense. If the best ability of a player is availability, then Spector has failed that test repeatedly, as well, as he’s been on IR three times in the last two years (in addition to the two trips last year thanks to the calf issues, he also began the 2023 season on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury). Spector has only played in 20 of 32 regular-season games over the last two seasons, and just one of five playoff games Buffalo has played in that same span.
Given his mediocre play on defense and his sketchy injury history, it’s fair to wonder whether Spector has a place on the 53-man roster moving forward. However, when looking at the general lack of depth Buffalo has at the linebacker position, it’s also hard to assume that he won’t make the roster based on what they have there at the moment.
I’d gamble a hefty sum that Bernard, Milano, and Williams are all safe, and Andreessen feels like a lock, as well, given that he proved himself to be more than just a hometown hero last season. Is Ulofoshio going to usurp Spector’s role? Will Thompson, who himself has only played six games over the last two years thanks to a slew of injuries?
On the surface, Buffalo’s linebacker group looks pretty solid. However, given the injury history of some of these players, there is definitely cause for concern. If Spector can stay healthy this summer, he has a great chance at remaining with the club in the same role he had last season.
However, this is a role where general manager Brandon Beane should be looking for players released on cut-down day who might be upgrades athletically, as well as players who have had better luck staying healthy.
Spector is probably going to be on the roster this season; however, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Bills decide to move on in August.