Bills C/OG Austin Corbett has the talent to win a starting gig in 2026
· Yahoo Sports
The Buffalo Bills lost left guard David Edwards in free agency this offseason, as the veteran signed a lucrative contract with the New Orleans Saints. Edwards was a stabilizing force for a very good Buffalo offensive line, serving almost as the command center in pass protection and blitz pickup. Especially in hostile road environments, you could always count on seeing Edwards pointing out potential threats incoming from opposing defenses.
Those are pretty large shoes to fill for whomever ends up winning the starting gig at left guard for the 2026 NFL season. In today’s installment of our “91 players in 91 days” series, we discuss a well-traveled veteran looking to fill Edwards’ shoes this fall.
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Name: Austin Corbett
Number: 63
Position: C/OG
Height/Weight: 6’4”, 306 pounds
Age: 30 (31 on 9/5/2026)
Experience/Draft: 9; selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round (No. 33 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft
College: Nevada
Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 3/26/2026
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Corbett signed a one-year contract worth a total of $1,487,500. Thanks to the veteran’s salary benefit, his cap hit will be slightly less than that, coming in at $1,262,500 for the season. That number is also what Buffalo will carry in a dead-cap charge if they release him prior to Week 1. As a vested veteran, his entire base salary — $1.3 million — becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the team for that first week.
2025 Recap: Corbett spent last season with the Carolina Panthers, which is where he’d played from 2022 onward. He began the season as Carolina’s starting center, but a Week 2 MCL injury led to the Panthers placing him on Injured Reserve.
When he returned for Carolina’s Week 7 victory over the New York Jets, Corbett started, but this time, he started at left guard. Corbett did not start the following week against the Bills, but after Cade Mays suffered an ankle injury early in the game, Corbett went right back into the lineup at center.
He ended up playing in 13 total games for the Panthers, starting 11 games combined at center, left guard, and right guard. According to Pro Football Focus, he was flagged for just one penalty during the season. He allowed two sacks while earning a 67.8 grade overall, which was No. 29 among 81 qualified guards.
Positional outlook: Corbett is one of four players listed at center/offensive guard on the current roster. Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, and Connor McGovern are the others. Lloyd Cushenberry is listed solely at center. Tylan Grable and Jude Bowry are listed at tackle/guard. Bruno Fina, Da’Metrius Weatherspoon, O’Cyrus Torrence, Ar’Maj Reed-Adams, and Nick Broeker are listed at guard.
2026 Offseason: Corbett is in the mix to replace David Edwards in the starting lineup at left guard. He has seen reps with the first team during early training camp practices, rotating with Alec Anderson in that role as the starting left guard.
2026 Season outlook: Throughout his career, Corbett has been an above-average performer at multiple positions. He was a starter at right guard for a Super Bowl team, as he held down that role for the Los Angeles Rams when they won the title during the 2021 NFL season. The Bills could do far worse than someone with Corbett’s ability and experience in the starting lineup.
However, Corbett’s versatility and veteran savvy also makes him an ideal interior line reserve. Whether he wins the left guard competition or not, Austin Corbett is someone the Bills would love to keep on the roster.
There were plenty of people, myself included, who assumed that the left guard gig this season would be Alec Anderson’s to lose given the time Buffalo has taken in developing him; however, this is a win-now league, and for the Bills, 2026 is a win-now season. They don’t have time to wonder whether the player they’ve developed is going to be good enough to start, and they certainly won’t give the job to Anderson merely because he’s been here longer. The NFL is a business, and the main goal in this business is winning.
If Austin Corbett is better than Alec Anderson, he’ll start at left guard this season for the Bills. If he isn’t, then he’ll likely be an active reserve on game days given that he can slot into all three of the interior positions along the offensive line. Buffalo could decide that they like another young player that they have developed, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, enough to use Corbett as trade bait, but SVPG has really only played center in his pro career despite his C/G listing.
It’s too early to tell which player has the upper hand in the left guard competition, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Corbett were to earn the starting gig. He’s started 78 regular season games and six playoff games in his career, which is more than all of the other players vying to replace David Edwards have even played in, let alone started, combined. Corbett is talented enough to win a starting gig with the Bills this season.