One of the key decisions that the Buffalo Bills had to make going into this offseason was deciding on whether or not they would pick up the 5th-year option for tight end Dalton Kincaid. Since Kincaid was a first round pick in 2023, where the Bills traded up to get him, he was eligible for this option.
The Bills did indeed pick up his 5th-year option and now he is set to essentially have a two-year deal with $10.74 million guaranteed with the Bills, per Spotrac. Now that the Bills gave the answer to that question, the next one they will have to answer is whether or not they eventually give him a contract extension to keep him in Buffalo for the long-term.
Head coach Joe Brady recently talked about Dalton Kincaid and how he “visibly looks bigger and stronger this offseason” per Maddy Glab, which gives Bills fans hope that Kincaid can finally have the breakout season that he has had glimpses of.
Since the middle of the 2024 season, Kincaid has been dealing with a knee injury which has affected his availability. However, he still managed to serve as a safety blanket for Josh Allen and the offense. He’s coming off a season where he had 5 touchdowns (career-high) and he managed to reel in 571 yards.
Now with his offensive coordinator becoming his head coach and the addition of other weapons, Kincaid could have the chance to finally break out in 2026. Until then, the Bills would be wise to wait until the season is over to decide on extending him.
Bills must hold off on extending Dalton Kincaid until after 2026 season
Michael Ginnitti from Spotrac recently wrote about six tight ends in the league who could have a possible extension coming, and Ginnitti predicted whether or not these players would get an extension sooner or later.
With Kincaid, Ginnitti is predicting that the Bills will not give Kincaid an extension and that would be the smart choice by the Bills.
"After catching 70+ passes in his rookie campaign, Kincaid has settled back into a more selective role in Buffalo’s offense (most notably due to injury management) - but did find plenty of red zone success in 2025. He remains a bit of an unfinished project heading into 2026, but the Bills exercised his 5th-year option to open up a little more time for both parties." said Ginnitti.
Spotrac’s valuation on Kincaid is 3 years worth $43 million ($14.3 AAV), which would put him as one of the higher paid tight ends. When Kincaid is on the field, the offense is better but the problem has been his availability. That’s why Buffalo should be holding off from seeing if Kincaid is worth the long-term investment.
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