![\"Buffalo](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2185569181-2.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and TE Dawson Knox<\/p>\n
Heading into the offseason, the top item on Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane\u2019s to-do list is finding a suitable replacement for head coach Sean McDermott, who was fired earlier this week after a 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos<\/a> in the divisional round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n Buffalo is interviewing a host of possible replacements including Joe Brady, Brian Daboll, Mike McDaniel, Anthony Lynn, Philip Rivers, and Lou Anarumo to fill McDermott\u2019s role.<\/p>\n But after finding a new head coach, Beane must turn his attention to building his 2026 roster \u2014 an endeavor that includes deciding which of Buffalo\u2019s 23 free agents are worth retaining, filling roster holes with prospective free agents, and building a 2026 draft class.<\/p>\n Dawson Knox Casts Doubt on Bills Future GettyBuffalo Bills TE Dawson Knox<\/p>\n The Bills are projected to be $11.61 million over the 2026 salary cap, according to Over the Cap.<\/p>\n There are a handful of players who could be on the chopping block as cap casualties, and tight end Dawson Knox is at the top of that list \u2014 and he knows it.<\/p>\n During a recent appearance on Mitch Morse\u2019s \u201cMonday Morning with Mitch\u201d podcast, Knox revealed that there\u2019s a good chance the Bills don\u2019t bring him back next season.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that they want to bring me back, however, they can\u2019t even know right now what the cap\u2019s going to be,\u201d Knox stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 Wherever I end up, I hope my tight ends coach is there with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Knox is about to enter the final season of his three-year, $29.5 million extension he signed back in 2022. He carries a $17.068 million cap hit in 2026, and Buffalo can save a decent chunk of change by parting ways with the 29-year-old pass-catcher.<\/p>\n If the Bills cut or trade Knox pre-June 1 cut, they\u2019d save $9.664 million in cap space, per Over the Cap. If he\u2019s cut or traded post-June 1, the team saves $12 million in cap space.<\/p>\n Buffalo can also create sizeable amounts of cap space through contract restructures \u2014 Josh Allen ($12.56 million), Dion Dawkins ($11.37 million), Ed Oliver ($8.88 million), Spencer Brown ($10.62 million), Joshua Palmer ($6.5 million).<\/p>\n It can also extend some players to create more breathing room with the cap as well \u2014 Allen ($12.56 million), Dawkins ($12.13 million), Oliver ($10.66 million), Brown ($10.62 million), Knox ($8.28 million), Palmer ($5.56 million), and Curtis Samuel ($3.94 million).<\/p>\n If the Bills do move on from Knox, it would leave Dalton Kincaid, Jackson Hawes, and Keleki Latu as the tight ends under contract.<\/p>\n Looking at the Bills\u2019 2026 Free-Agent Class<\/p>\n Buffalo has several players it likely wants to retain, and several positions of need it wants to fill as well.<\/p>\n Below are all of the team\u2019s impending free agents:<\/p>\n Quarterback: Mitch Trubisky Restricted free agents:<\/p>\n Offensive tackles: Alex Anderson and Ryan Van Demark<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMichael Gallagher<\/a> Michael Gallagher is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He has more than a decade of experience working for both local and national news outlets covering the NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, college football, and MMA. His work has been featured in Newsweek, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Athlon Sports, The Hockey News, the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, and Yardbarker. More about Michael Gallagher<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Bills\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and TE Dawson Knox Heading into the offseason, the top item on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":700664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,53,2086,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-700663","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-buffalobills","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115948264973323055","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Buffalo](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2253146088.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nFullback: Reggie Gilliam
\nWide receivers: Gabriel Davis and Brandin Cooks
\nGuard: David Edwards
\nCenter: Connor McGovern
\nDefensive tackles: Jordan Phillips, Larry Ogunjobi, and DaQuan Jones
\nEdge-rushers: A.J. Epenesa and Joey Bosa
\nLinebackers: Shaq Thompson and Matt Milano
\nCornerbacks: Cam Lewsi and Tre\u2019Davious White
\nSafeties: Sam Franklin, Darnell Savage, Jordan Poyer, and Damar Hamlin
\nKicker: Matt Prater
\nPunter: Mitch Wishnowsky<\/p>\n