Free agency preview: Which tight end fits if Dawson Knox does not stay in Buffalo?
General manager and president of football operations Brandon Beane wants Knox to return, but his $17.068 million cap hit next season is the third highest among NFL tight ends. Here's a glance at the tight ends available in free agency.
Editor's note: This is the third of several stories previewing the start of NFL free agency on March 11.
Dawson Knox understands the Buffalo Bills' dilemma.
General manager and president of football operations Brandon Beane wants Knox to return to Buffalo for the 2026 season, but his $17.068 million cap hit next season is the third-highest among NFL tight ends.
The Bills love Knox. He's a reliable blocker and receiver. Few of Josh Allen's pass-catchers made more clutch plays while Dalton Kincaid was out of the lineup last season. Knox had 36 catches for 417 yards and four touchdowns. But it's difficult for a team so close to the cap to spend that much money on a No. 2 tight end with Knox's production.
Cutting or trading Knox would solve the problem. The Bills want to keep him, though, and they should be able to restructure his contract to make sure he plays an eighth season in Buffalo.
"We've done pay cuts before with players," Beane said last week at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. "With those, you have to keep in mind, they're going to try and figure out what their market is, and that's what their agents do a great job of. And then what do they feel − everyone wants to feel respected and their worth, and he knows his role on this team. And so we'd be crazy not to want a Dawson Knox back. We know we have to make it work for him and work for us. And so it's TBD at this point, again, like it is with some other players, too."
What if Knox doesn't return? Here's a glance at the tight ends available in free agency:
In-house: Tight end is one of the strongest positions on the roster, with Knox, Kincaid, and Jackson Hawes. The Bills will pick up Kincaid's fifth-year option, which will cost the team just $8.162 million in base salary for 2027. Kincaid proved in 2025 that he's one of the best tight ends in the league at stretching the field. The 2023 first-round draft pick averaged 14.6 yards on 39 catches, hauling in five touchdown passes and converting 27 first downs. Availability is Kincaid's only issue. He's played through a knee injury in each of the past two seasons, limiting him to 12 games in 2025. It's important to keep him healthy.
Hawes, meanwhile, quickly emerged as a draft-day steal, earning one of the best run-blocking grades among all NFL tight ends, according to Pro Football Focus. He also caught 16 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. His arrival allowed Joe Brady to move away from jumbo personnel with a sixth offensive lineman on the field to more two- and three-tight end sets.
Top of the heap: Travis Kelce, Chiefs; David Njoku, Browns; Isaiah Likely, Ravens; Chig Okonkwo, Titans; Cade Otton, Buccaneers; Dallas Goedert, Eagles.
Is anyone else tired of hearing speculation about Kelce's plans for 2026? We all know it's Kansas City or retirement for the three-time Super Bowl champion. Njoku, meanwhile, is coming off a disappointing and injury-plagued season. He could reunite with former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski in Atlanta as a complement to Kyle Pitts Sr., or perhaps Njoku will land in Detroit, where his former position coach, Drew Petzing, is the offensive coordinator. The Lions are looking for another tight end because Sam LaPorta is coming off back surgery.
Despite a disappointing 2025 season, Likely may get the highest payday of the group because he has the upside to be a top 10 tight end. Likely, 25, caught 11 touchdown passes between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, plus he's a better blocker than his reputation would suggest. The depth of the tight ends in this draft could impact Likely's market, but he's going to be in demand with how many teams are starting to use more heavy personnel groupings. A reunion with John Harbaugh in New York is not out of the question, though the Giants have a talented starter in Theo Johnson.
Okonkwo is reportedly in talks to return to the Titans, who need as many weapons as possible for their second-year quarterback, Cam Ward, and the offense should air it out more often in 2026 with Brian Daboll calling plays. The Eagles and Patriots also would make sense for Okonkwo, though he may not have the blocking ability to play for Mike Vrabel in New England.
The Broncos are still searching for someone to play the "Joker" role in Sean Payton's offense. Though Goedert is 31 years old, he should have a robust market coming off a season in which he totaled career highs in catches (60), yards (591), and touchdowns (11). Watch for Goedert and the Saints, whose head coach, Kellen Moore, called plays for the Eagles during their Super Bowl run.
Otton won't wow you with his receiving or blocking ability, but he's arguably the most well-rounded tight end available. A team like New England or Philadelphia would make sense, as well as the Washington Commanders, who need to keep adding talent around quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar, left, caught 10 passes during the 2025 season.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Names to know: Charlie Kolar, Ravens; Tyler Higbee, Rams; Adam Trautman, Broncos; Daniel Bellinger, Giants; Taysom Hill, Saints.
Kolar would be atop the list if Knox leaves because the former Baltimore tight end is a physical football player with a personality and work ethic that would fit perfectly in the Bills' locker room. His run-blocking grade in 2025 was the best of this group, according to Pro Football Focus, and he has the receiving chops to be a reliable target for Allen. Don't let the lack of volume scare you. Kolar has caught just 19 passes over the past two years, but he was buried on the depth chart behind Likely and Mark Andrews. Kolar converted nine first downs last season, and he had a career-long 55-yard reception in 2024. Cost wouldn't be an issue, either, as Kolar is projected by Spotrac to receive a contract with a $1.6 million average annual value.
Health became an issue for Higbee in the past three seasons in Los Angeles, as he appeared in just 13 games between 2024 and 2025. In 2022, he totaled career highs in targets (108), catches (72), and receiving yards (620). Bellinger, 25, averaged 15.1 yards per catch in 2025, and the Bills would have plenty of intel with the Bills' connections to Giants general manager Joe Schoen. Trautman, 29, played for Bills offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael in New Orleans and Denver. He hasn't caught more than 35 passes in any of the past four seasons.
Under the radar: Mo-Alie Cox, Colts. The eight-year veteran is a 6-foot-5 athlete who successfully transitioned from power forward at VCU to NFL tight end. Cox has caught fewer than 20 passes in each of the past four seasons, and his career high is just 31 catches in 2020, but he's a reliable blocker who can play in Brady's scheme. Cox turns 33 in September, and he'd be a cheap, bottom-of-the-depth-chart option if Knox leaves.