Bills offseason position spotlight: Tight end
Call it blunt diplomacy.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane was careful not to criticize their tight ends in his season-ending review.
On the other hand ...
"It was never where the opposing defense was like, ‘Man we’ve really got to stop their tight ends from going off,' " Beane said.
It is against this backdrop that we start this latest installment in a series examining each of the Bills' position groups and what changes likely are in store as they attack the 2021 offseason.
Dawson Knox
Even after catching a career-high six passes against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, Knox likely didn't do enough in his second season to solidify himself as the team's top option at tight end heading into Year 3.
The 2019 third-round pick still has two years to go on his rookie, cost-controlled contract, however, meaning the Bills likely will not be parting ways with him. His salary cap hit will be just over $1 million, and they need as much cheap labor as they can get.
Plus, he has the speed to do some vertical damage too.
Tyler Kroft
An injury and two trips to the reserve/COVID-19 list limited him to 12 catches for 119 yards and three TDs. His contract has expired and he almost certainly will be moving on.
Lee Smith
The blocking specialist played just 171 snaps with the offense. He remains under contract after catching four passes for 35 yards. but none of the money is guaranteed.
This means the Bills can clear his entire cap hit of $2.25 million from the books by releasing him. Can't imagine him being back at that price tag.
Reggie Gilliam
Limited mostly to special teams as an undrafted rookie in 2020, Gilliam has a cost-effective contract and could figure more prominently into their plans in 2021.
Tommy Sweeney
The 2019 seventh-round pick missed all of 2020 with a foot injury that was followed by a diagnosis of myocarditis, which is an inflamed heart condition that sometimes presents itself as a post-COVID-19 complication.
Sweeney had been on the reserve COVID-19 list himself before the diagnosis, though it is not known whether he was infected or was just in close contact with someone who was.
No matter. Where he fits in next season is unclear. He remains under contract with a cap hit of less than $1 million.
Nate Becker
After spending the better part of the 2019 and 2020 seasons on their practice squad, Becker was elevated to the active roster and played in their game against Miami to close the regular season.
He's been re-signed to a futures contract.
The draft
The Bills will be active at this position for sure. It's just a matter of how early and how often.
At No. 30 overall, Penn State's Pat Freiermuth could be enticing if he's still on the board.
Considered a smart player, Freiermuth also brings excellent size (6-5, 260) and physicality to the position and could well drop to them in the first round because of a shoulder injury that ended his final season at Penn State after just four games -- all losses.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro.
