Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills agree to contract extension
Tight end Dawson Knox and the Buffalo Bills have agreed to a four-year, $53.6 million deal with $31 million guaranteed, making him one of the highest paid tight ends in the sport, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report Wednesday.
Knox, a former third-round (No. 96 overall) selection out of Mississippi in the 2019 draft, is entering the final year of his rookie deal, where he is set to make $2.5 million in base salary with a cap-hit of $2.7 million. Now, his new deal for $53.6 million places him sixth among tight ends in total salary and average annual value ($13.4M), per Spotrac.
The 6-foot-4, 255-pound tight end quickly emerged as one of the top pass-catching threats for one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, Josh Allen.
Prior to 2021, Knox caught 52 passes for 676 yards and five scores. In 2021 alone, he was second on the Bills in scores (9) — one shy of tying the team-leader, Stefon Diggs — third in catches (49) and fourth in receiving yards (587). His nine touchdowns set the franchise record for a tight end, eclipsing the previous record of six that Scott Chandler tied twice in 2011-12.
“I want to be here. I bought a house here a few months ago, not because I want to be gone in a year,” Knox said during training camp, via ESPN. “So, I want to be here as long as I can, but I know a lot of that stuff is out of my hands with salary cap. I try not to read into all that too much, but I’ve definitely communicated that I want to be here for an extended amount of time, so whether that’s getting the extension now or later, I definitely hope that happens.”
From a fantasy prospective, the 25-year-old tight end vaulted outside the top-28 in both standard and PPR formats (from 2019-20) to the sixth- and 10-best tight end in standard and PPR formats, respectively, in 2021, per Fantasy Pros. Heading into 2022, he ranks as a TE9 in standard formats — with T.J. Hockenson, Dallas Goedert and Dalton Schultz among those ahead of him — and No. 12 in PPR. The site projects Knox will finish with approximately 50 catches, 609 receiving yards and six touchdown catches.
“Very, very excited. Just very thankful to the Pegulas and to [general manager Brandon] Beane and just my agent for getting everything going,” Knox said Wednesday. “… I mean, I love the city of Buffalo. It couldn’t be a better football city. I fell in love with the fans, with just the culture here. So I knew I wanted to be here for as long as I possibly could be. I couldn’t be more excited to lock this deal in.”
“[Knox] just works his tail off. He’s a guy I respect so much because every time he steps foot in the field, he’s going 100% and I love that about him,” offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said. “He’s awesome inside the building, always locked in on meetings, eager to learn, asking questions, wanting to be coached, and willing to take coaching.”
Full quotes here:
No better time to ink a contract extension with the best team in football than the day before the season-opener against the defending Super Bowl champs Los Angeles Rams!
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