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, $52M 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.
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