ORCHARD PARK - The NFL announced Friday that Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis has been suspended for three games for violating the NFL's Substances of Abuse Policy.
Mathis will be eligible to play in the preseason, which begins for Buffalo Saturday afternoon at Highmark Stadium against the Carolina Panthers, but he will not be eligible to play in a regular-season game until Sept. 28 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Mathis has been making a push for a roster spot throughout training camp and it seemed as if he had the upper hand in a competition that also includes players such as DeWayne Carter, Zion Logue and rookie Zane Durant along the interior of the defensive line.
Mathis was a 2022 second-round draft pick of the Commanders who never found his niche in Washington’s defense. The Jets signed him to their practice squad at the end of 2024 and spent the offseason and training camp in New York before being released at the end of training camp.
The Bills signed him to the practice squad last September and he eventually was called up to play six games, during which he made 13 tackles.
Recently, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard was asked about Mathis’ performance in camp and he said, “I'm impressed with his athleticism for that size. He's big, he's powerful but he's a really good athlete. He's got good feet, great practice habits, he runs to the football consistently day in and day out. Not all big guys do.”
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills defensive tackle hit with three-game suspension