The Bills’ choice to carry four tight ends on their 53-man roster may not look like much at first glance, but it does hint at where this position could be headed. Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Jackson Hawes, and Keleki Latu each offer something different, and Buffalo’s willingness to keep all four gives the offense some real flexibility.
It also raises a bigger question: how long can Knox stay locked into the picture?
Knox is still under contract and still matters to what Buffalo does on offense. But Kincaid has clearly emerged as the long-term answer at tight end, while Latu did enough in offseason camps and preseason to earn more development time. Hawes adds another young piece to the mix, which only strengthens the sense that Buffalo is building toward something beyond the veteran.
That does not mean the Bills are ready to move on from Knox right now. There is no immediate reason for that, and he can still fill an important role. But when a team chooses to keep four tight ends even with other roster needs, it’s fair to look ahead and ask who is most likely to still be there in a year or two.
Kincaid is the easy answer. The more intriguing part is whether Latu can grow into another dependable option.
That’s where Knox’s standing gets a little more complicated.
He has been in Buffalo since 2019 and has been part of the team’s climb into perennial contender status. But rosters don’t stay still for long in the NFL, and younger players eventually push veterans into tough conversations.
For now, the Bills still value Knox. If they ever decided to make a move, they would be staring at either an $8 million dead cap hit or, with a post June 1 designation, $5 million in savings. Even so, the current setup may simply be about giving Joe Brady more ways to use the tight end group.
Still, the shape of the room suggests a transition could be coming.
If Kincaid stays healthy, Latu keeps developing, and Hawes proves he can offer more than he did last year, Buffalo may eventually have enough in-house options to move on without Knox. And because the Bills place such a premium on developing young players, keeping all four tight ends now could be their way of figuring out exactly what they have before making that call.
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Sean McDermott Just Added Fuel To Buffalos 2026 Hype
Sean McDermotts name still carries weight around Orchard Park, and his latest comments only added to the sense that Buffalos runway is getting longer, not shorter. After the Bills spent the offseason making moves to strengthen the roster, including the trade for DJ Moore, McDermott said he believes the team has the kind of makeup to remain in the Super Bowl conversation, even going as far as to forecast a Bills-Rams matchup in Super Bowl LXI.
McDermott also made clear he is not done chasing the sideline spotlight himself. He said he wants another shot to return as an NFL head coach and still has his eyes on winning a world championship with a future organization, a reminder that his bond with Buffalos rise is still part of a bigger coaching story. For Bills fans, the praise is welcome, but the more intriguing part may be whether this kind of confidence turns into something even more tangible over the next few seasons. [Read more 🡒]
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Gaines brings the kind of versatility that fits a defense still sorting out its personnel, with the ability to work as a rotational nose tackle and line up at multiple spots across a three-man front. With depth at nose tackle not especially deep, his path to a larger role looks realistic, even if the final pecking order in the middle is still very much up for grabs. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Secondary Depth Could Suddenly Matter More Than Fans Expected
Buffalos secondary already has enough pressure on it without adding another name to the mix, but Asante Samuel Jr. has emerged as a possible depth option if the Bills decide they want more insurance for the stretch run. The veteran corner is on a one-year deal with Pittsburgh, and even with recent injury issues, he still brings the kind of earlier-career production that can make him worth a closer look for a team trying to keep pace with the AFCs best.
The timing is what makes this interesting. Pittsburgh could consider moving Samuel around the trade deadline, and if that happens, the Bills would have to decide how aggressively they want to chase help at a spot that can swing a playoff game in a hurry. For a roster built with a Super Bowl run in mind, secondary depth is the sort of thing that usually only gets noticed when it is suddenly in short supply. [Read more 🡒]