Who Should I Start? Alec Anderson or Ikem Ekwonu

Wednesday, January 15, 9:57 PM

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Alec Anderson (calf) was officially listed as limited for Wednesday's team practice. The former undrafted free agent picked up a calf injury in Buffalo's 31-7 Wild Card win over the Denver Broncos. Anderson was typically deployed as the Bills' sixth offensive lineman during the regular season but was utilized heavily this past weekend before exiting the game. The 25-year-old played 26.7% of Buffalo's regular-season snaps but was on the field for 22 (29%) of them through less than two quarters of work. Head coach Sean McDermott listed him as day-to-day on Tuesday, so that he could practice in some capacity is a boon for his outlook regarding Sunday's Divisional Round tilt with the visiting Baltimore Ravens. If Anderson is inactive, teammates Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and Tylan Grable figure to see an uptick in snaps.

Monday, April 28, 3:48 PM

The Carolina Panthers have announced they'll pick up the fifth-year option on offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu. He'll now be with the team through the 2026 season and garner a fully guaranteed $17.56 million in his fifth season. Carolina drafted the 24-year-old with the sixth-overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. Ekwonu has improved in each campaign since entering the league and was solid for Carolina in 2024, albeit a better run-blocker than he was in pass protection. Still, he's been reliable -- starting 49 of a possible 51 games -- missing just two contests last year with an ankle injury. The North Carolina State product will need to improve against the pass rush in order to eventually gain a lucrative contract, but he's been a fine contributor for the Panthers. He will anchor quarterback Bryce Young's blindside once again in 2025.