Buffalo Rumblings
Cha-ching
Buffalo Bills tight ends were one of the stories of the game for the team’s victory over the New York Jets in the final regular-season game at Highmark Stadium, and some other members of the team were awarded a little extra monetary reimbursement to pay off those Christmas credit card bills.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid was surprisingly active and caught three passes for 48 yards in in an attempt to get him warmed up before the Bills travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars in the AFC Wildcard Round next weekend. Dawson Knox, who had seen an uptick in passing game usage over the last few weeks of the season, was an early focus from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (who came in after Josh Allen took a snap to extend his consecutive start streak to 135). Knox came into the game as one of many Buffalo Bills looking to earn a little extra cash through contract incentives for specific statistical milestones, needing six catches, seven receiving yards, and one touchdown to get an extra $100,000 for each of the three achievements.
When the final seconds came off the clock, Knox had hit two of those three incentives and went home knowing he had another $200,000 in compensation coming his way (before taxes).
Running back Ty Johnson needed two touchdowns to collect a $250,000 incentive and 57 receiving yards to collect another $125,000. He picked up his two touchdowns, with the Bills very clearly prioritized Johnson’s touchdown when inside the five with multiple consecutive touches, finally getting him his money with a fast flat route in the fourth quarter to go up 35-0.
Teams frequently prioritize players with contract incentives when possible (specifically on offense) in the last game of the season when winning the game is not the team’s most pressing priority. Head coach Sean McDermott even mentioned in his halftime interview with CBS’ AJ Ross that it was “good to get (James Cook) some yards” and Knox “a touchdown and some yards”. Coaches are aware of what needs to happen and will frequently make good faith attempts to help players hit those contract incentives. In a game when Josh Allen doesn’t play more than a perfunctory snap, “cash watching” was always going to take center stage apart from the regular season send-off to Highmark Stadium.
The list of Bills who didn’t reach notable contract milestones includes, per Adam Schefter of ESPN:
