April 7, 2025 | By ESPN Staff
The Buffalo Bills pulled the trigger on a stunner Sunday, trading tight end Dawson Knox to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2025 fourth-round pick and a conditional 2026 sixth, sources confirmed to ESPN. GM Brandon Beane offloaded a lingering $80M headache—stemming from Knox’s 4-year, $53.6 million extension in 2022—after years of fading returns.
Knox’s $14.5 million cap hit loomed over Buffalo’s razor-thin $4.45 million cap space, prompting Beane to ditch the veteran for cap relief—$10.2 million if post-June 1—leaving just $4.3 million in dead money. The Chiefs swooped in, eyeing depth behind Travis Kelce.
Once a star, Knox lit up 2021 with 49 catches, 587 yards, and 9 touchdowns, earning that hefty deal. His 12.0 yards per catch that year fueled Josh Allen’s ascent, but the shine dulled fast (NFL.com).
From 2022-2024, Knox mustered 79 catches, 891 yards, and 9 TDs across 41 games, a steep drop to 11.3 yards per catch. In 2024, he hit rock bottom—22 catches, 267 yards, 2 TDs—eclipsed by Dalton Kincaid’s rise (SI.com).
Chiefs fans erupted on X: “Knox for a fourth? Beane’s gift-wrapped us a steal!” Another crowed, “Mahomes just got a new toy—watch out!” Kansas City’s TE corps, with Kelce at 35, gains a spark.
Bills Mafia, though, isn’t celebrating. “Beane’s tossing away talent for scraps,” one vented online, mourning Knox’s exit as Kincaid shoulders a thinning TE room. Buffalo’s 9th-ranked run game could feel the pinch (ESPN).
Beane’s cap-clearing echoes his 2024 Diggs trade—Knox’s $13.4 million average annual value was a relic of past promise. Chiefs fans see a reclamation project; Bills fans see a lost era slipping away (Spotrac).
Two AFC clashes loom—Knox in red could haunt Buffalo or flop again. Beane banks on picks to rebuild, but Chiefs fans are buzzing, dreaming of a Kelce-Knox tandem lighting up Arrowhead.
