Bills head coach Dick Jauron said it was a possibility and six days into training camp it's become reality as Langston Walker has been moved from right to left tackle with holdout Jason Peters still absent.
Walker lined up on the left side next to guard Derrick Dockery for the first time in a closed Wednesday morning walk through practice.
"I'm over there," said Walker. "I was asked to see if I can be put in that position and I agreed to it. We're going to go and test it out and it's still practice. It's not a game or anything like that, but the coaches are confident, I'm confident and I think the rest of the guys on the team are confident about it."
"I'd definitely like to keep Langston at the right (tackle spot) and have Jason come in to camp," said Jauron. "We'll be prepared just in case and even when Jason comes in we'll keep working people at different positions so they're ready in the event of an injury on game day. We feel the way we're doing it will give us options."
Walker has played on the left side before saying the last time he did it full time was four years ago when he was still with the Raiders. He even played some left tackle his rookie season of 2002 when he stepped in for an injured Lincoln Kennedy for Oakland and performed admirably.
Right now Walker feels he's in a similar situation to that of his rookie year.
"I'm just basically holding down the spot until Jason Peters' situation gets worked out," he said.
Still it's an adjustment to flip over from the right to left side of the line.
"It helps that he is a veteran," said Bills offensive line coach Sean Kugler. "He understands our scheme even more so being in it for a year, but it is a change. It's like switching your brain going right to left and all your calls are different, all your footwork is different and what you're looking for is different and typically you're going against their best pass rusher on defense. So it's a challenge, but no matter who we put there we feel they'll be up to it and Langston has certainly accepted that challenge."
When asked by Buffalobills.com if Walker is the team's long term solution at left tackle if the Jason Peters situation remains unchanged Kugler said the coaching staff hasn't made a final decision on that yet.
"It's something that we're looking at," said Kugler. "We're just trying to find the best five guys right now for our lineup and the best five behind them and we're still in that process."
If Walker is still at left tackle come the preseason games and the regular season he'll be facing more speed rushers on that side as opposed to playing right tackle. But Walker maintains that he will not have to alter his approach playing on the blind side.
"I don't think I have to really change my game at all," said Walker. "I just think that honing my technique is going to be the biggest thing. If I make the right technical moves then that will take care of it. The rest is all in my head."
For Buffalo's offense the line was supposed to be one of their main constants, but the Peters holdout has now compromised that continuity. Kugler is not yet at the drop dead date to cement his starting five up front, but it's fast approaching.
"We don't want to move guys around for the long term," said Kugler. "But we want to get our front five solidified and keep them there and not have to move them again and we're in that process, but it's getting closer and Walker's a big part of that."
But if the Peters holdout drags on Walker could play a bigger part than anyone anticipated.
