Dalton Kincaid Closer to Playing in Carolina Week 8
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Dalton Kincaid and the Buffalo Bills have been feeling a little tight lately. Kincaid missed the game versus the Atlanta Falcons due to a strained oblique muscle. By Tuesday, Sean McDermott had the Tight End listed as day-to-day. The good news is that Jackson Hawes has seen his stock drop. This means Kincaid has a chance if he impresses to get more snaps in Carolina.
The Latest On Dalton Kincaid And The Oblique
Kincaid had only been seeing around 42% of the snap counts from the Tight End position in 2025. Remember, Dawson Knox has factored into the equation as well at times. Anyway, the oblique injury that plagued Kincaid is becoming less and less of a problem. While he is still day-to-day as of Sunday, the expectation is that he will trend to playing Week 8 versus the Carolina Panthers.
Dalton Kincaid leads all TEs with a 2.56 YPRR this year and Brock Bowers looks fully zapped with the same injury Kincaid had last year.
— w0rm_3mbrace (@W3mbrace8268) October 17, 2025
I think a lot of people need to eat some crow about Kincaid, but since they wont, you wont hear that he's LEADING THE LEAGUE in YPRR for TEs
YPPR is a fancy way of saying yards per route run. This measures the receiver's efficiency by dividing their total receiving yards by the number of routes they run. It is a relatively solid way of accounting for a receiver's ability to get open and what they do after they catch the ball.
Kincaid is also getting down the field more in the Buffalo offense this season (9.3 yards) which further indicates he is more vital to the Bills than ever. He has been considered limited in practice but is progressing along. Early projections suggest he will be a full participant later in the week. Again, bye weeks can often be a team's best friend because they do not have to disclose as much information.
Anyway, this is not one of those severe oblique strains that become worse and wreck a player's season. People forget the Kincaid had that knee injury last season that started innocent enough but was not. Again, do not panic.
Like we mentioned above with the crowded Tight End situation in Buffalo, it can be difficult to have fantasy football faith in Kincaid. However, of the three receivers, he possesses the most upside.
Fantasy Football Impacts For Next Sunday
Again, things can change during the week. It is highly recommended to keep an eye on players like Kincaid. Before Week 6 against Atlanta, he was listed as questionable and then on Monday, suddenly he was inactive.
Thankfully, Buffalo is not coming off the bye on a Thursday, they get a full bye week to assess the situation. If Kincaid can go, Josh Allen gets a receiver who can stretch the middle of the field with a little speed and power. Dawson Knox got loose on one play while Kincaid can break contain several times. That is a big difference .
One other thing that would help Kincaid and the other Buffalo receivers may be to let James Cook run the ball a little more. He only ran the ball 17 times against Atlanta. Maybe 20-25 carries is a more solid plan to set up the pass. Kincaid is one of the better run blockers on Buffalo along with catching passes.
Joe Brady simply needs to trust the players that make the plays. Kincaid is one of those vital cogs.
