Dalton

Kincaid

Knox let this one leak out on Monday. For now, we can only speculate on when Kincaid may have suffered this injury, but it wouldn’t be surprising to learn it happened in Week 10’s win over the Colts. Kincaid suffered a knee injury in that game and went on to miss the following three games before returning in Week 15. It’s unknown at this time whether or not Kincaid will undergo surgery to correct the injury, but it’s something to keep in mind ahead of the offseason.

Kincaid flubbed his chance of being a hero as Josh Allen tried to find someone to throw it to under pressure on Buffalo’s final offensive down of the season, dropping a ball that would have kept the drive alive. Fantasy drafters saw Kincaid and Trey McBride as being roughly in the same tier of tight end coming into the season, and the good news is that drafting one of those players would have made you happy. The bad news is that it was not Kincaid. He slumped to a 44/448/2 receiving line in just 13 games played, and even when the Bills tried to make him a focal point of the offense there were almost no yards after contact to justify the targets. Kincaid finished his final four games of Buffalo’s season and playoff run with just 10 targets despite resting in Week 18. He’s going to enter the 2025 offseason as a dart throw TE1 on perceived talent. Nothing about his fantasy situation figures to get any better with Joe Brady and most of the receiving corps returning.

Kincaid was nearly a non-factor in a Bills’ passing game that sure could use a viable No. 2 threat to complement slot receiver Khalil Shakir. PFF tallies 19 total blocking snaps and just 12 receiving snaps for Kincaid. He has yet to give Sean McDermott a reason to change tactics though. Kincaid will attempt to redeem himself against the Chiefs’ potent defense in the AFC Championship.

Kincaid’s 47 yards were his second most since the calendar flipped to November. Kincaid had one of his more productive games of the regular season against the Ravens in Week 4. A similar effort will be needed for the Divisional Round rematch.

He was actually out-targeted (3-2) and outsnapped (34-31) by Dawson Knox. It was a blowout, of course, which complicated things as the Bills were never really threatened on defense en route to a 40-0 lead. Kincaid simply hasn’t been a reliable enough source of yards this year to be a sure-fire TE1, and he’ll remain that way in Week 18 and as we go forward to playoff best ball.

Kincaid landed hard on his healthy, left knee early on but he ultimately missed no time despite briefly sporting a limp. Though Kincaid’s final stat line undoubtedly underwhelms, both his four receptions and seven targets were team highs. Kincaid is a touchdown-dependent fantasy starter in Week 17, facing a Jets defense that lost coverage LB C.J. Mosley to injured reserve earlier this month.

Kincaid was tied with Khalil Shakir for the team lead in targets and could have had a bigger day after a 10-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen in the fourth quarter was called off due to a suspect holding penalty. The Bills clearly wanted to get Kincaid involved in the passing game after he missed the last four weeks, but he remains more of a high-end TE2 due to the competing weapons in the Bills’ passing attack.

The tight end was questionable coming into this game, but he’ll be back on the field for the first time since suffering a knee injury in Week 10 against the Colts. Keon Coleman will also be returning for Buffalo, which is great news since most of their secondary is now hurt and this week’s game against the Lions figures to be a shootout. Kincaid is an upside TE2.

This comes just hours after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Kincaid was expected to play in the showdown between AFC and NFC powerhouses. Kincaid was a full participant in Wednesday and Thursday’s practices and will presumably log another full practice on Friday. If active, Kincaid will profile as a boom-or-bust TE2 after struggling to live up to his lofty draft capital this season.

Kincaid hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in Week 10 against the Colts, but the second-year tight end is on track to return in Week 15 after being a full participant in both practices to open the week. Injuries aside, it’s been a disappointing season for Kincaid and his fantasy managers, as he’s logged just three TE1 weeks in the 10 games he’s played in this season. If he’s active, he’s best viewed as high-upside TE2 against the Lions in a game that could be the highest-scoring on the slate.