Bills’ All-Pro Facing Critical Season: He Needs ‘To Improve in 2025’

After back-to-back injury-plagued seasons, veteran linebacker Matt Milano enters his 2025 campaign with a point to prove.

Once the heart of the Buffalo Bills defense and a 2022 first-team All-Pro, Milano has appeared in just nine games over the past two years due to a broken leg and torn biceps.

Now on a restructured contract and nearing age 31, he faces a critical crossroads. Can he return to elite form and anchor a defense in transition, or will 2025 mark the beginning of the end for one of Buffalo’s most beloved defenders? As training camp begins, all eyes in Orchard Park will be on No. 58.

Nick Wojton of USA Today’s Bills Wire listed three players who “need to improve in 2025,” and he chose wide receiver Keon Coleman, tight end Dalton Kincaid and Milano.

“Milano will now be a free agent after next year but he could return,” Wojton wrote on July 5.

“But that depends on Milano finding a way to stay on the field and not manage another injury. And if Milano does stay healthy, it’s easy to be confident in him as he’s always a consistent player when he does stay on the field.”

Milano Has Spent His Entire Career in Buffalo

GettyBills linebacker Matt Milano is headed for a make-or-break 2025 season, with his future in Buffalo in question.

Milano has carved out an impressive NFL career with the Bills since being selected in the fifth round (163rd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he appeared in all 16 games, starting five. He made his mark early, finishing with 49 tackles, an interception and a 40-yard fumble returned for a touchdown.

Milano continued to be a force through the 2022 season. In 2020, he played in 10 games despite a pectoral injury, finishing with 45 tackles and 3.5 sacks. The Bills rewarded his production with a four‑year, $44  million extension in March of 2021.

That year, he finished with 86 total tackles (15 for loss), 3.0 sacks, five passes defended and six QB hits.

Then, in his career-best season in 2022, Milano earned All‑Pro and Pro Bowl honors after notching 99 tackles (12 for loss), 1.5 sacks, three interceptions (including a pick-six) and 11 pass breakups, proving himself among the league’s top coverage linebackers.

Unfortunately, injuries have derailed Milano’s momentum ever since. He broke his leg in Week 5 of his 2023 campaign, ending that season. He played just five games.

Then, in August 2024, during training camp, he tore his biceps—undergoing surgery and missing the majority of the season. He returned late in the year and played in four games. Over 2023 and 2024 combined, he appeared in just nine regular season games.

Buffalo Bills LB Matt Milano Entering Make-or-Break Year

The 2025 season will be pivotal for Milano—for both his future and the Bills’ defense. At 30‑going‑on‑31 and in the final year of his contract, he restructured his deal in March 2025, taking a pay cut with incentives and positioning himself to become a free agent after the season. Thus, this will be a make‑or‑break year for the Bills stalwart. The primary goal for Milano will be to stay healthy.

Any further setbacks—or struggles to regain his footing and/or coverage instincts—would likely mean the end of his tenure in Buffalo.

For Milano, the upcoming season is more than just a return from injury, though. It’s a proving ground. He needs to bring back at least some of the juice he had during his better seasons. He doesn’t need to be an All-Pro again — although the Bills would love it if he does — he just needs to stay healthy and be consistent.