Getty Evan Engram runs after a catch against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Buffalo Bills could look to give Josh Allen a new Pro Bowl pass-catcher before the trade deadline has passed, an insider reports.
The Bills are heading into the bye week at 4-2 after a Monday Night Football loss to the Tennessee Titans, and now could be dealing with another big loss. Tight end Dawson Knox suffered a fractured hand during the game and has undergone surgery that could keep him out beyond the bye week. The injury, and the potential to add another target for Allen, could have the Bills going to the trade market for a New York Giants pass-catcher, one insider speculates.
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Bills Could Look for TE Help
As FanSided reporter Matt Lombardo noted, the trade market for tight ends seems very light approaching the November 2 trade deadline, especially after one of the biggest potential targets already moved. The trade that sent Zach Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals eliminated one major team from contention for other tight ends, which Lombardo says has depressed the market for Giants tight end Evan Engram, the next biggest name on the list.
As Lombardo suggested, the Bills could be one of the teams still in the mix on Engram.
“Asking around a bit on Evan Engram, and my impression from conversations around the league is that the Giants may struggle to move him,” he tweeted. “Few competing teams really need a TE right now, and the Cardinals‘ trade for Zach Ertz took a major suitor. One team to watch: Bills.”
The Bills had already been linked to Ertz at various times during the offseason, with some insiders suggesting that Buffalo would look for a proven tight end to add for Josh Allen. But as the season started, Knox moved beyond two uneven seasons plagued at times by drops to become that player. He has 21 catches for 286 yards and five touchdowns this season, turning into one of Allen’s favorite and most reliable targets.
Knox Recovering From Broken Hand
As ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reported, the Bills don’t see Knox’s injury as a major concern, especially given the light stretch of games for the team after the bye week. Buffalo returns to action on October 31 against the one-win Miami Dolphins, then play two more teams with only one win apiece — the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets.
.@Dawson_Knox fractured his hand during the game but stayed in to throw a two-point conversion. 🤯
Getzenberg noted that Tommy Sweeney, a seventh-round pick from 2019 who missed last season due to a heart complication related to COVID-19, will now step into Knox’s role as the primary pass-catching tight end. Sweeney caught a touchdown against the Titans on Monday after Knox left due to injury, but Getzenberg suggested that the Bills could look for more help. Some have suggested that could include a trade for a different tight end — Jacob Hollister, who spent training camp with the Bills but failed to make the team’s final roster.
The Jaguars, who are thin at the tight end position, worked out former Eagles, Bears and Colts TE Trey Burton.
Burton played for Urban Meyer at Florida.
If the Bills don’t look to trade for a target, there is at least one potential option on the free-agent market. Former Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts tight end Trey Burton is still looking for a team, and got a workout from the Jaguars and his former college coach, Urban Meyer, after Jacksonville placed James O’Shaughnessy on injured reserve.
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