Grade for the Buffalo Bills signing tight end Jacob Hollister

The Buffalo Bills entered the offseason wanting to upgrade the tight end position and the hope is they did that by signing Jacob Hollister to a one-year deal last week. Hollister started his NFL career with the New England Patriots after they signed him when he went undrafted in 2017.

He would play two seasons with the Patriots and saw limited snaps, finishing with eight receptions for 94 yards. Shortly after the 2019 NFL Draft, the Patriots traded Hollister to the Seattle Seahawks for a seventh round pick and he played the past two seasons with the Seahawks.

He would have two of his best seasons in the league and over that stretch had 66 receptions, 558 yards, and six touchdowns. The hope is that Hollister will continue this upward trend as he is reunited with his college quarterback, Josh Allen, in Buffalo.

While Hollister is not a clear-cut upgrade over Dawson Knox, the team’s starting tight end last year, he does bring depth and competition to push for that starting job. One of the reasons this is such a great deal, and this has been a theme this offseason, for the Bills is the contract they were able to agree to.

According to Spotrac, the deal with Jacob Hollister is a one-year deal worth $1,127,500 which is well behind contracts that players like Tyler Kroft (1 year, $2 million), Dan Arnold (2 years, $6 million) and Chris Manhertz (2 years, $6,650,000). It is hard to make a case that any of those players are significantly better than Hollister or bring more to this offense next season.

Final Grade: B+

It would have been great for the Buffalo Bills to add a clear cut upgrade at tight end this offseason. However, when considering what it would have cost to sign one of the top tight ends or trade for someone, like Zach Ertz, this is the best direction to go. This essentially still gives Dawson Knox an opportunity to grow into the starting role but also provide a veteran option if he doesn’t improve on his first two seasons.