Dalton Kincaid is on the short list of Buffalo Bills players with the most to prove this season.
Bills coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane both said at the end of the 2024 season that Kincaid, the team's first-round draft pick in 2023, needed to get stronger heading into his third pro season. The tight end has been hard at work doing that this offseason, but he first needed to give his injured knees time to heal.
Yes, knees. In a phone conversation with The Buffalo News on Wednesday, Kincaid shared that he played though injuries to both of his knees over the second half of last year. He also discussed the feedback he got from Beane and McDermott at the end of the 2024 season. Kincaid's numbers took a big step back from his rookie year in 2023, when he had 73 catches for 673 yards and two touchdowns. Those totals fell to 44 catches for 448 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) played through a pair of knee injuries during the 2024 season.
Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News
The following is that conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity:
**The Buffalo News:** First things first: How are you feeling at this point in the offseason?
**Dalton Kincaid:** I feel pretty good. I mean, obviously, just kind of looking at it from where you were at the end of the season to where you are now, the progress overall, I'm feeling a lot better. I feel like I've made quite a few strides.
**BN:** How long did that process to feeling better take?
**DK:** It took a lot longer than I thought it would. You get in the season and you get in that in-season mode, and then when the season ends, whenever it does happen, you just assume the body feels good and everything goes back to normal, but that's not the reality. It's definitely putting in effort to get the body feeling good and getting back to 100%, but a huge difference between where I was to where I am now.
**BN:** Your coaches and teammates appreciated how you played through an injury that might have otherwise ended another player's season. What made you decide to try and play through something that maybe other guys wouldn't have been able to do?
**DK:** I don't know if it was a decision. I don't know if I ever would have left it to that. There is not much that could really keep me from going out there and playing, unless it really was a detriment to the team. The hours coaches put in, the time you spend with your teammates and just playing for one another – because you see what your teammates go through – it just makes you want to play more. ... As long as I can go out there and play and protect myself, I'll always be out there.
**BN:** Those outside the team might not have a full understanding of just how hurt you were. How impacted were you in terms of what you were trying to accomplish?
**DK:** It depended week to week. You'd feel good one week, and something happens and it was back to square zero. I was pretty banged up, I would say. It was in both of my knees, which makes it a lot tougher. You're playing ping-pong, at that point. One knee is good, one knee is bad. Looking back, I mean, that's another thing you look on and reflect on: Was it worth it to play? Was it the right decision? I'd do it all 100% again. You test how far you can really push the body and what the body can really withstand. It's true: Toward the end of the season, everyone is really going through something. It's just a matter of how drastic it really is. Definitely learning and the experience – taking better care of the body, taking unnecessary hits that you don't need to take.
**BN:** What were you dealing with in particular?
**DK:** I'm at the point in the offseason where I'll be transparent with everything. It was my PCL in my left knee, and then in my right knee, it's a pretty uncommon thing – it's hard to pronounce, it's going to take a Google search or two – but it's a Morel-Lavallee (lesion). It's kind of a form of bursitis where basically the skin underneath the knee is filling up with fluid. That was something I've never heard about before. It was those two things in the knees.
**BN:** What was the rehab and recovery process like?
No surgery involved. Obviously, you want to avoid that as much as possible, but a lot of time spent strengthening everything in the knee and also giving it time to heal.
**BN:** You mentioned the word "strength." Both Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane have said that improving your strength was a priority for the team, and I'm assuming a priority for yourself this offseason. What was it like to receive that message from them, and how have you gone about doing that?
**DK:** Definitely working a lot more with Will (Greenberg, the Bills' head strength and conditioning coach). I think spending a lot more time in the building, too, just being around everyone. Because then you've got everybody kind of working with you. You've got the training staff, you've got the strength, you can work with the coaching staff. That's, obviously, a point where I want to get better. That comes with staying healthier throughout the season, as well. The stronger you are going into the year, the better you're going to feel toward the end. There are little things, too, throughout the season – learning from vets on the team and talking to those guys. I think that was also something that I took away from last year is just picking guys' brains who have been in the league that long and performed well toward the end of the year and stayed healthy. I just listened to those guys about what they do to really stay in a good position for the end of the season.
**BN:** What was your reaction to what Brandon and Sean said?
**DK:** I wouldn't necessarily call it tough to hear. It's conversations you have organically with people. It's not anything that I'm not aware of. It's something that has been an emphasis this offseason, and will continue to be as the offseason goes on.
**BN:** Have you been in Buffalo mostly this offseason, or have you been training elsewhere?
**DK:** No, I've been up here for a while. Probably will continue to, as well, after OTAs. Obviously, there are trips I have to go on and family time to be made. There is a life outside of football, but you know, I've made that a big point of wanting to be here, wanting to be around the building and get better. Utilize all the resources the the coaches and Sean and the Pegula family makes available for us.
**BN:** When you put the injury aside and assess where you're at a couple seasons into your career, what conclusions do you come away with? What are some of your goals for year three?
**DK:** I think, if anything, at least personally, it's reflecting a lot. You come in Year 1 and everything is so fast and there is so much going on in Year 1. Then Year 2 comes and you think you've got everything figured out, and I mean, you realize you don't. I've reflected a lot and become more grateful for the job and the opportunity and everything. With that, it's motivation and discipline to really perform at a high level. I don't know if much changes, necessarily. It's more just the experience that comes with the job and learning throughout it. It's trial and error and talking to people. I know I've already mentioned that, but it's really listening to the vets who have been there. They've had their first year, second year, third year, and what they learned and what they wished they would have known earlier.
**BN:** Going into Year 3, knowing you were drafted where you were drafted, how excited are you to show that you can fulfill that role on a consistent basis for this team?
**DK:** It's exciting. I really don't feel like I have anything to prove to other people, rather than the people in the building and the people who believed in me inside those doors. It's really just kind of proving those guys right. Those are the people who really believed in me and got me here, so I think, if anything, anxiousness would be a correct word to use, because you're a little bit nervous, but you're also very excited at the same time, going into year three. I'm feeling really good and just really excited to continue to be out there. We only have a handful of (OTAs), and then before you know it, training camp will be here and we're back up there with all the fans. I think you get eager as the days get closer. Before you know it, the season is going to be here.
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