The Buffalo Bills have some moves to make to fill out the roster and they will need to decide who they want on the roster for the start of the Joe Brady era. We are entering a new phase of Bills football. For nearly a decade, Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane have been the ones in charge, but now Brady replaces McDermott.
Since 2022, Brady has worked closely with Josh Allen and the offense as the QBs coach and the offensive coordinator. Under his playcalling, one player that has shown signs of high potential is tight end Dalton Kincaid. Outside of the first couple weeks of the 2023 season, Kincaid has had Brady as his playcaller. Now he has him as his head coach.
Kincaid is coming off a crucial year of his career because now, the Bills will have to decide if they will pick up his fifth-year option of his rookie contract, since he was drafted in the first round.
After the Bills officially introduced Brady as their next head coach, Brandon Beane talked with the media about various topics including Kincaid’s future in Buffalo. At the time, Beane had said that there is “no reason why we wouldn’t pick that up” per Lance Lysowski. Now, Beane is doubling down on that statement.
Bills officially intend to pick up Dalton Kincaid's fifth-year option
At the NFL combine, Beane spoke on One Bills Live with Steve Tasker and Chris Brown, and talked about the importance of Kincaid being in the offense and how they will look to help overcome injuries that he has battled since his career started. Beane then said that "at some point, we will definitely pick up his fifth-year" per Alex Brasky and Beane on One Bills Live.
Brandon Beane provided further clarity regarding Dalton Kincaid’s fifth-year option while appearing on @OneBillsLive on Tuesday
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) February 25, 2026
Beane confirmed the Bills will pick up Kincaid’s option, which is worth $8.75 million pic.twitter.com/OIHNrz1Ynp
It makes a lot of sense for the Bills to pick Kincaid’s fifth-year option. Aside from dealing with a knee injury that goes back to the 2024 season, the offense is simply better when he is on the field. The playcalling opens up and he has a Travis Kelce-like style where he manages to get open in the flat or in the middle of the field to pick up the first down.
Even with missing five games this season, Kincaid managed to set his career high in touchdowns (5) and he had 571 yards off of 39 catches. He averaged over 14 yards per reception.
Dawson Knox has one year left on his contract, but his time in Buffalo may not be guaranteed long-term as his cap hit is set to be $17 million, but the Bills can save $12 million if they designate him as a post June-1 release, per Over The Cap. Kincaid is a better receiving option at the tight end spot and Jackson Hawes showed to be a phenomenal blocking tight end who can also catch.
Kincaid is set up to hopefully become a franchise player for Buffalo, but he has to find a way to stay healthy on a consistent basis. Hopefully that happens in 2026, assuming that he will officially have two years remaining on his rookie contract after his fifth-year option is picked up.