Bills, TE Dawson Knox Agree To New Deal
MARCH 14: Knox’s new contract is worth $20MM over the next three years with $13.46MM in guaranteed money, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Of that, $10MM is fully guaranteed, including a $6.25MM signing bonus, as well as $1.3MM in guaranteed salary in 2026 and $2.45MM in 2027, according to OverTheCap. Another $3.46MM of his 2027 salary is guaranteed for injury and will vest into a full guarantee early in the following league year. Knox additionally will receive a $1MM bonus on the fifth day of the 2028 league year.
MARCH 10: Seven-year veteran tight end Dawson Knox will continue his career in Buffalo. The parties have agreed to a new three-year deal, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports. Knox agreed to a restructured contract to remain with the Bills, per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.
Until now, Knox’s future in Buffalo had been in question as a result of a bloated cap number on his previous pact. Before this restructuring came together, the 29-year-old was in line to count $17.87MM against the Bills’ cap next season.
With Knox due a $1.5MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the league year, the Bills had to address his contract quickly. They will now keep the 2019 third-rounder in the fold as an important cog in their offense.
Knox combined for 52 catches over his first two seasons, but he found another gear from 2021-22. The 6-foot-4, 254-pounder averaged 48 catches, 552 yards and just under eight touchdowns during that two-year stretch.
Knox earned his lone Pro Bowl nod in 2022, but the Bills’ reliance on him temporarily diminished after they spent a 2023 first-rounder on fellow TE Dalton Kincaid. While Kincaid hauled in 73 passes and recorded a 60.05% snap share as a rookie, Knox caught just 22 and played 41.8% of offensive snaps. With Kincaid battling knee issues in 2024, Knox easily finished with more snaps (618 to 471), though he only managed 22 receptions for the second straight season.
Last year was a resurgent pass-catching campaign for Knox, who racked up 36 grabs, 417 yards and four scores. Playing the first 17-game season of his career, Knox led Bills tight ends in snap share (57.69%) as knee and oblique injuries held Kincaid to 12 contests. The Bills were also heavily reliant on blocking specialist Jackson Hawes, who was in on 43% of offensive snaps as a rookie.
Although Hawes caught a meager 16 passes in 17 games last season, Pro Football Focus ranked the fifth-rounder as the league’s fourth-best tight end among 69 qualifiers. Kincaid checked in at No. 2, while Knox finished 24th. With Knox sticking around, the Bills will keep a strong TE group intact heading into former offensive coordinator Joe Brady‘s first season as their head coach.
Bills Notes: McGovern, Knox, Shaheed
Then coming off his first full season as a starter, former Cowboys guard Connor McGovern joined the Bills on a three-year, $23MM free agent contract in March 2023. McGovern has since played out the deal, mostly at center, and is now a week away from returning to free agency. Although McGovern told Tim Graham of The Athletic he wants to stay in Buffalo, he believes his time with the team is up.
“They haven’t contacted me once,” McGovern said. “In my gut, that says it’s over and done.”
While unheralded at the time, the McGovern signing counts among the shrewdest moves Brandon Beane has made in free agency during his nine years as the Bills’ general manager. McGovern started in all 17 games at left guard in the first year of his contract. After the Bills released Mitch Morse in March 2024, they shifted McGovern to center.
McGovern made a seamless transition to the pivot, where he started in all 32 appearances the past two years. As Graham notes, McGovern’s only absences came when the Bills rested him in meaningless Week 18 games.
McGovern played through hand and triceps injuries last season, but Pro Football Focus still ranked him ninth among 37 qualifying centers. The 28-year-old tied for a more impressive third place among interior linemen in pass block win rate (97%). He finished alongside another pending free agent, the Ravens’ Tyler Linderbaum, in that category. Linderbaum is the No. 1 center set to hit the market. McGovern would be the top potential consolation prize at the position for teams that lose out on Linderbaum.
It’s unclear how the Bills plan to proceed if McGovern exits. They are also facing the loss of starting left guard David Edwards, a pending free agent who may do even better than McGovern on his next contract. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Alec Anderson and Tylan Grable are among interior O-line options under contract. Cade Mays, Tyler Biadasz, Ethan Pocic, Lloyd Cushenberry and Sean Rhyan represent some experienced centers Buffalo could look into at less expensive costs than McGovern and Linderbaum in free agency.
As is the case with McGovern, there is uncertainty regarding tight end Dawson Knox‘s future. The seven-year veteran and career-long Bill is still under contract for next season. However, with the Bills around $8.28MM in the red, Beane recently indicated a desire to lower Knox’s untenable $17.87MM cap number (via Sal Capaccio of WGR 550).
“He has a tough number as we go into the season, so we’ve gotta figure that out, as we do,” Beane said. “Dawson and I had dialogue. The day after the season, the day after we lost in Denver, he came up to my office. We talked for a while. I have a good relationship with Chase Callahan, his agent. Done a lot of deals, and so I think it just starts with trust, communication, and honest conversation. And so we’ve had some dialogue.”
If the Bills and Knox do not agree to a reworked contract, releasing the 29-year-old before March 15 would save $10.46MM in space. The Bills would take on $7.4MM in dead money at the same time. A post-June 1 cut would free up $11.3MM in savings for the Bills, who would carry dead cap over two seasons ($6.57MM in ’26, $2.34MM in ’27).
Knox has not revisited his 49-catch, 517-yard, nine-touchdown heights from 2021, but he has remained an important cog in a high-end offense. In his first 17-game season in 2025, the former third-rounder’s 57.7% snap share led a solid tight end group that also saw Dalton Kincaid and blocking maven Jackson Hawes log significant action. Knox caught 36 of 49 targets for 417 yards and four scores.
Whether or not Knox sticks in Buffalo in 2026, the team figures to address its receiving corps this offseason. Buccaneers pending free agent Mike Evans is one rumored possibility. Multiple league executives have also connected Packers wideout Romeo Doubs and Seahawks receiver Rashid Shaheed to the Bills, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
Doubs and Shaheed are not No. 1-caliber options, but they should do well in a thin class of free agent receivers. The speedy Shaheed was on the Bills’ radar before last November’s trade deadline, but the Saints wound up sending him to Seattle for a 2026 fourth- and fifth-rounder. Over 12 games with the Super Bowl champions (including playoffs), Shaheed picked up just 18 catches for 266 yards and no touchdowns. The 27-year-old made a greater impact on special teams, where he combined for three kick and punt return scores.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/25
Here are Sunday’s minor transactions to close out the weekend:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Steven Gilmore
Buffalo Bills
- Activated from active/NFI list: TE Dawson Knox, WR Laviska Shenault
Detroit Lions
- Released (with injury designation): CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from active/NFI list: RB Amar Johnson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Activated from active/PUP list: T Jawaan Taylor, TE Tre Watson
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers (from Dolphins): CB Ryan Cooper Jr.
- Waived: P Kai Kroeger
Arizona is adding the brother of Stephon Gilmore after placing two cornerbacks on injured reserve earlier today. Thomas-Oliver was released by the Lions a day after suffering a hamstring injury in practice. He had returned to practice only three days ago from the active/non-football injury list.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/22/25
With training camps kicking off around the NFL, teams continue to make adjustments to their rosters. Here are today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Matt Sokol, WR David White
- Waived: WR Kelly Akharaiyi, P Jake Camarda
- Placed on active/PUP: OT Spencer Brown, C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
- Placed on active/NFI: TE Dawson Knox
- Activated from active/PUP: DE Landon Jackson
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Tyler Mabry
- Released/failed physical: LB Josey Jewell (story)
- Placed on active/NFI: DT Bobby Brown
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: DT Dante Barnett
- Placed on active/NFI: RB Zack Moss
Cleveland Browns
- Waived (with injury designation): WR Jaelen Gill
- Placed on active/PUP: DT Mike Hall Jr., QB Deshaun Watson
- Placed on active/NFI: WR David Bell
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: K Mark McNamee
Houston Texans
- Waived: CB Keydrain Calligan
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on active/PUP: DT Maason Smith
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Phillip Dorsett, G Atonio Mafi, WR Seth Williams
- Waived: CB Mello Dotson, WR Zakhair Franklin, WR Key’Shawn Smith, LB Jailin Walker
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: OT Savion Washington
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OL Daniel Brunskill
- Waived: QB Brett Gabbert
- Placed on active/PUP: OL Liam Eichenberg, TE Darren Waller
- Placed on active/NFI: S Ifeatu Melifonwu
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on active/PUP: TE Taysom Hill, TE Foster Moreau
- Placed on reserve/retired: TE Dallin Holker, S Tyrann Mathieu (story)
New York Giants
- Signed: S K’Von Wallace
- Waived/failed physical: S Anthony Johnson Jr.
- Placed on active/PUP: RB Eric Gray, LT Andrew Thomas
- Placed on active/NFI: LB Victor Dimukeje
New York Jets
- Waived: OT Obinna Eze
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on active/PUP: OT Silas Dzansi, WR Chris Godwin, G Sua Opeta, QB Michael Pratt, OT Tristan Wirfs
- Placed on active/NFI: LB Anthony Walker
- Placed on active/non-football illness: DL Desmond Watson
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on active/PUP: C Lloyd Cushenberry, CB L’Jarius Sneed
Washington Commanders
- Waived/NFI: RB Michael Wiley
NFL Restructures: Mahomes, Chiefs, Allen, Bills, Broncos, Browns, Martin, Cowboys
Completing a Marquise Brown signing after franchise-tagging L’Jarius Sneed, the Chiefs were able to find room due to once again taking advantage of Patrick Mahomes‘ unique contract. Kansas City created $21.6MM in cap space by restructuring the three-time Super Bowl MVP’s contract, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. The Chiefs have gone to this well twice before, making the move in 2021 and 2023 to create cap room. The team reworked Mahomes’ deal in September 2023, following the QB market moving well beyond the Missouri-based superstar’s $45MM AAV, by moving guaranteed money around. But the extension still runs through 2031, giving the team room to maneuver here. Even with the Sneed tag on the books — ahead of a potential trade — the Chiefs hold more than $15MM in cap space as of Friday afternoon.
Here is the latest on the restructure front:
- After the Bills made a few high-profile cuts last week, they restructured their centerpiece player’s deal this week. Buffalo created $16.7MM in cap space by restructuring Josh Allen‘s deal, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This merely moved Allen’s 2024 cap charge down to $30.4MM. No void years are on Allen’s $43MM-per-year extension, but monster cap numbers in 2026 and ’27 ($63.9MM, $56.9MM) will need to be addressed. Allen’s deal runs through 2028. The Bills also adjusted Dawson Knox‘s contract to create cap space, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
- The Broncos may be preparing to take the bigger Russell Wilson dead money hit this year as opposed to in 2025. Though, the final number has not yet emerged. The team has created considerable cap space as of late, releasing Justin Simmons and trading Jerry Jeudy. The Broncos also restructured the contracts of 2023 UFA pickups Zach Allen and Ben Powers, per Yates, creating nearly $20MM in cap room.
- The Cowboys reorganized Zack Martin‘s deal recently, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer, who indicates the move created roughly $13MM in cap space. To end Martin’s holdout last year, Dallas provided considerable guarantees over the final two years of the All-Pro guard’s six-year deal. That contract now features four void years. If the Cowboys do not extend Martin before the 2025 league year, they would be staring at a $24.5MM dead money blow.
- Jedrick Wills will check in here, even though he is not on a veteran contract. The Browns restructured their left tackle’s fifth-year option, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The move created more than $10MM in cap space. Cleveland tacked four void years onto Wills’ deal. If the team does not re-sign him before the 2025 league year, it incurs an $11.8MM dead money bill. The Browns also turned to Jerry Jeudy‘s fifth-year option, which the team recently acquired from the Broncos, to create more than $10MM in space, Yates adds. The team likely used the same void years-based structure with the wide receiver’s option.
Bills Activate TE Dawson Knox From IR
Set to enter their second juggernaut matchup in a row, the Bills will be getting a reinforcement to their offensive unit. Tight end Dawson Knox has officially been activated off of injured reserve and should be available this weekend against the Chiefs. In order to make room on the active roster, Buffalo has waived veteran linebacker A.J. Klein. 
Klein was signed to the active roster back in mid-October, after spending some time on the practice squad, and has been a bit of a nonfactor this year. Since being promoted, Klein has only appeared in two games, serving special teams duty in both contests.
Knox has missed the team’s last five games as he’s recovered from a wrist injury that required surgery back in late-October. He’ll be able to return to the offensive lineup this week, but he could be returning to a bit of a different situation than when he left. Knox’s absence has given rookie first-round pick Dalton Kincaid every opportunity to learn on the job and take over his role as the primary pass-catching tight end.
Knox had signed a significant four-year, $52MM extension prior to the 2022 season, and though he took a slight step back from an impressive 2021 campaign, Knox still was a heavy factor in Buffalo’s passing attack, even earning a Pro Bowl selection. Matters were slightly complicated by the decision to draft Kincaid, with many questioning the call to utilize such high draft capital on a position they had just dedicated a lofty contract extension to.
Regardless, Knox and Kincaid shared the load through the first few weeks of the season, with each staying fairly even in terms of targets and snaps. Neither really seemed to be taking control of the job too much until Kincaid delivered a 75-yard performance while catching all eight of his targets in Week 7. Kincaid has been impressive since then, embracing his larger role in the offense and striving in it. Add in the fact that the team has recently been mentioned in the same breath as veteran free agent tight end Zach Ertz, and things get a little more complicated for Knox.
The Bills will be happy to see Knox back in the fold, but with the price tag he carries, it will be interesting to see how they use him after watching Kincaid look a bit more effective in his role as a rookie. Things could get even more complicated if Ertz does indeed enter the picture, as well.
Bills Designate Dawson Knox, Kaiir Elam For Return
Back from their bye week and preparing for a stretch of must-win games, the Bills may have one of their skill-position starters ready in time to begin that run. Sean McDermott said Wednesday the team will open Dawson Knox‘s practice window.
Knox, who has been out since October with a wrist injury, has missed the past five games. The Bills will have three weeks from Wednesday to activate their highly paid tight end. Buffalo is also designating cornerback Kaiir Elam for return. The struggling former first-round pick has missed time due to an ankle injury.
Sitting 6-6, the Bills are not in good shape on the injury front. Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones sustained severe maladies early this season. But Buffalo has only used one injury activation previously, holding seven such moves for their post-bye period. Knox and Elam are on track to take up two of those slots.
Given a four-year, $52MM extension just before last season, Knox remains a key presence in Buffalo’s offense. Though, the team’s decision to select Dalton Kincaid in this year’s first round has affected the fifth-year tight end. The Bills have made significant investments in this position, doing so as they have not used a Day 1 or Day 2 draft choice on a wide receiver since McDermott’s first draft; the team chose Zay Jones in the 2017 second round. Granted, Buffalo traded a first-rounder for Stefon Diggs in 2020.
The Diggs-dependent passing attack still involved Knox before his injury. The Stanford product played 68% of Buffalo’s offensive snaps through seven games, but his aerial role has diminished. Knox caught 15 passes for just 102 yards before his wrist surgery. He topped 500 yards in each of the past two seasons. The Bills have been loosely tied to a Zach Ertz pursuit, but Knox’s return to join Kincaid would seemingly stand to send the ex-Eagles and Cardinals pass catcher elsewhere.
Elam’s early NFL performance has disappointed. The 2022 first-rounder, who appears to have been a Trent McDuffie consolation prize for the Bills, has failed to commandeer a starting job. With White again out for the season, the Bills traded for Rasul Douglas at the deadline. Elam appeared in trade rumors before his injury, but the Bills will still attempt to develop him. The 6-foot-1 corner has played in just three games this season, being a healthy scratch at points.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/26/23
Today’s minor moves around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed to active roster: CB Bobby Price
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: OLB Jeremiah Moon
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: WR Andy Isabella, CB Josh Norman
- Placed on IR: TE Dawson Knox (story)
Las Vegas Raiders
- Designated to return from IR: LB Curtis Bolton
New England Patriots
- Signed to active roster: WR Jalen Reagor
Seattle Seahawks
- Placed on IR: OLB Uchenna Nwosu (story)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: CB Richard LeCounte, DT Deadrin Senat
Reagor has been called up as a standard gameday elevation three times now for the Patriots, the maximum under a single practice squad contract. It remains to be seen if he will stick on the team’s active roster, but if he’s going to see any more game action this year, the promotion was a necessary one. He’s obviously able to play while on the active roster, but if the team were to release him and re-sign him to the practice squad, he would have the ability to be elevated three more times on the new deal.
The Bills and Buccaneers are making their standard gameday elevations for Thursday Night Football tonight. Veterans Isabella and Norman will both be making their season debuts if they see the field tonight in Buffalo, as will LeCounte and Senat for the Bucs. Norman has a good chance to see the field with Kaiir Elam out and Tre’Davious White still on injured reserve. Senat likewise should get a chance to rotate in for Tampa with Vita Vea currently inactive.
Bills TE Dawson Knox To Undergo Surgery, Expected To Be Placed On IR
OCTOBER 26: While a firm timeline is still not in place for Knox’s recovery, he could be in line to sit out an extended stretch. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Knox is expected to be placed on IR, a move which would require him to miss at least four weeks. That would open the door for Kincaid to see a sustained uptick in usage, but it would leave the Bills shorthanded on offense through an important midseason stretch. Buffalo has seven IR activations remaining this season.
OCTOBER 23: Injuries continue to remove key Bills pieces from the equation. After sustaining significant setbacks on defense this month, Buffalo’s latest major setback comes on offense.
Dawson Knox will undergo wrist surgery, according to Sean McDermott. While the seventh-year HC did not confirm a timetable, Knox will likely be in line to miss a stretch of games. This injury dates back to the Bills’ London matchup with the Jaguars, and although the veteran played in each of the past two games, the team will shut him down for the time being.
Knox has not missed a practice since the Bills returned from London, logging three limited sessions before Week 6 and practicing in full last week. He caught a two-point conversion toss from Josh Allen in the fourth quarter but also dropped a pass earlier in the stanza. For the season, Knox is at 15 receptions for just 102 yards and a touchdown. The 6.8-yard average is by far a career-low mark for the fifth-year pass catcher, whose per-game number (39.3) also checks in below his averages from 2019-22.
The Bills gave Knox a four-year, $52MM extension just before last season that at the time made the former third-round pick the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid tight end. With Darren Waller, Evan Engram and T.J. Hockenson signing new deals since, Knox now sits ninth in AAV at the position. While he remains a key Bills component, the team made the interesting move to invest its top offseason resource in the position by taking Dalton Kincaid in Round 1.
This injury will thrust Kincaid into a larger role, it would appear. This year’s first tight end drafted, Kincaid entered Week 7 with only one 30-plus-yard receiving performance. He established a new career-best mark in New England, totaling 75 yards on five catches. The Bills traded up for Kincaid in April, and they will need to lean on the Utah alum during Knox’s absence. While the two had shared the field, Knox had seen more playing time (316 offensive snaps) than Kincaid (242) early this season.
Unlike Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones, Knox may be a likely candidate to come off IR. It would appear the Bills will move Knox off their 53-man roster while he recovers, but even that is not certain yet.
Bills, TE Dawson Knox Agree On Extension
Dawson Knox will not play out a contract year in 2022. The Bills are extending their top tight end, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
The former third-round pick is signing a four-year deal to stay with the team that drafted him. Knox expressed his desire for a second Bills contract earlier this offseason. He will now be tied long-term with Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs, the latter having also signed an extension this year. Knox’s deal is worth $53.6MM and includes $31MM guaranteed, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
This works out to a $13.4MM-per-year deal. That places Knox near the top of the tight end market but outside the top five. It checks in sixth at the position, coming in behind David Njoku‘s $13.7MM-AAV contract and Hunter Henry‘s 2020 Patriots agreement. Knox, 25, could have potentially positioned himself for a better deal as a 2023 free agent, but he made it clear earlier this year that was not a route he wanted to go.
“First and foremost, I want to be here. I mean, I bought a house here a few months ago, not because I want to be gone in a year,” Knox said this summer. The fourth-year pass catcher had approached the Bills about a new deal. It is not known how long negotiations have transpired, but the Bills have their breakthrough tight end signed for five more seasons now.
Diggs helped key Allen’s rise into one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in 2020; last season, Knox aided the climb as well. The Ole Miss alum caught 49 passes for 587 yards and nine touchdowns to help the Bills to a second straight AFC East title. Knox tallied two more touchdown grabs in the playoffs.
Although Knox did not top 400 yards in either of his first two seasons, Wednesday morning’s extension indicates the Bills believe the 6-foot-4 target will be able to sustain his 2021 level of play for a while. Knox becomes the latest Ole Miss pass catcher from the 2019 draft class to sign an extension this offseason. A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf did so as well.
It certainly did not hurt Knox’s cause that he and Allen are close, and the MVP candidate’s top three targets are now each locked up beyond 2022. Gabe Davis‘ rookie deal runs through the 2023 season. The Bills also re-signed slot/gadget player Isaiah McKenzie this offseason. Jamison Crowder, a free agency pickup, remains in the mix as well.
Knox’s breakout being an indicator a promising career is ahead would check off a key box for a Bills franchise that has not seen too much from the tight end position throughout its modern history. Even going back throughout the team’s 62-season annals, the Bills have never seen a tight end produce an 800-yard year. Only one (Paul Costa in 1967) has surpassed 700. Efforts to establish long-term connections — such as the five-year, $38MM Charles Clay deal in 2015 — have not worked out. The Bills were mentioned as a Zach Ertz trade partner last year, but the team stuck with Knox, who will be locked in as Buffalo’s top tight end for the foreseeable future.