Alaina GetzenbergMar 10, 2026, 11:56 AM ET
- Alaina Getzenberg covers the Buffalo Bills for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills found a way to keep tight end Dawson Knox on the 2026 roster amid a difficult cap situation by signing him to a new three-year contract, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday.
Knox is now under contract through the 2028 season.
Knox was set to account for $17.1 million in cap space this year with $12 million due in cash. Cutting him would have saved the Bills about $9.7 million on the salary cap.
Instead, the Bills found a way to keep the seven-year veteran who desired to play and continue working with tight ends coach Rob Boras -- with whom he shares a good relationship -- and new head coach Joe Brady. Boras has been promoted this offseason to also be the Bills' run game coordinator.
Knox expressed a desire to remain with the Bills. However, president of football operations and general manager Brandon Beane was honest that the cap situation made that an unknown during the team's exit meetings, as he shared on former teammate Mitch Morse's podcast.
Knox, 29, was drafted by the Bills in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft and has developed into an important part of the team's run game and a valuable receiving outlet for quarterback Josh Allen. He is part of a tight ends room that is now secure for the 2026 season, rejoining 2023 first-round pick Dalton Kincaid and Jackson Hawes, a fifth-round pick last year.
The veteran tight end was third on the team in receiving yards last year (417) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (four).
Knox is the latest offensive player the team has elected to re-sign, joining center Connor McGovern, who was given a new four-year deal Saturday.
The deal for McGovern came together quickly last week, and it was aided by Allen. McGovern said that the pair are always in contact and that the quarterback reached out to him last week to check in.
Allen's involvement in keeping McGovern in Western New York was more extensive as he was also engaged in talking with the Bills about retaining his center.
"[Allen] called just to check in and make sure I was doing well before free agency," McGovern said. "Trying to give his two cents on everything and we got the ball rolling from there. He was talking to both sides."
Allen has often given his perspective and gotten involved in various moves the Bills have made over the years. The center said that he was aware he could have gotten more money on the open market, but that he and his wife, Delaney, decided the financial difference wasn't worth giving up the fit in Buffalo. McGovern also added on getting the deal done, "It doesn't hurt when you have 17 in your corner also trying to drive things through."
