Getty Bills tight end Dawson Knox at Gillette Stadium on October 22, 2023.
The Buffalo Bills could be nearing a return for tight end Dawson Knox.
Head coach Sean McDermott told reporters on November 24 that Knox, who had been placed on injured reserve after undergoing surgery for a broken wrist, could potentially return to the team after the upcoming bye week.
That would put him back on the field for what could be one of the most important games of the season for the Bills.
“Bills HC Sean McDermott said they are ‘hopeful but not certain’ that TE Dawson Knox will be able to return after their bye week and ahead of the Week 14 Chiefs game,” wrote The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Knox’s return could be a boost for an offense that has struggled at times to find reliable targets outside of wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
Dawson Knox Had Shaky Season Before Injury
Knox could be returning at an important time for the 6-5 Bills, who are looking to crawl back into the playoff bracket amid a challenging stretch that includes games on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles and Chiefs before returning home to face the Dallas Cowboys.
Knox has been one of quarterback Josh Allen’s favorite targets, but struggled this season and made just 15 catches for 105 yards and one touchdown in seven games before being placed on injured reserve.
“The tight end became one of the central figures of the Bills offense over the last several years, even signing a long-term extension” Buscaglia wrote for The Athletic. “However, he has had an extremely slow start to the 2023 season, averaging a career-worst 6.8 yards per catch. Knox has also struggled with drops this season, and perhaps the wrist injury explains some of those missed opportunities.”
Another Breakout Tight End for Bills
With Knox’s injury, rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid saw an increased share of targets and has made the most of the situation. Over the course of the last five games, Kincaid has made 34 catches for 318 yards with two touchdowns.
Kincaid has become the team’s No. 2 target behind Diggs, earning some big praise from McDermott.
“It’s what I’m used to when you see a tight end,” the Bills head coach said, via ESPN. “What I came up around in Philadelphia, what I came up around in Carolina with respect to Greg Olsen in Carolina, and then Chad Lewis or the other tight ends we used in Philadelphia with Donovan [McNabb] there. … For a young player like Dalton to come in and develop this rapport now that you’re seeing with Josh, it’s really good, I know, for the quarterback in terms … when you have that security blanket over the middle of the defense, it’s nice to have.”
inject dalton kincaid mic’d up into my veins.. young man has a lot of fun out there
Knox has also played a role in helping Kincaid, saying he has been giving some pointers to the rookie.
“I know as a rookie it’s easy to have the high highs and the low lows, so just keeping everybody level, keeping everybody just controlling what they can,” Knox said, via ESPN. “… Also, if I see something in the defense and maybe [Kincaid] doesn’t, maybe bringing something to his attention, but he’s so smart already he’ll have most of it handled himself.”