{"id":894471,"date":"2026-09-13T17:49:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T17:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/894471\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T17:49:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T17:49:03","slug":"tucker-kraft-re-sets-nfl-te-salary-scale-is-bills-dalton-kincaid-at-that-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/894471\/","title":{"rendered":"Tucker Kraft Re-Sets NFL TE Salary Scale: Is Bills’ Dalton Kincaid at That Level?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buffalo Bills\u2019 fourth-year tight end Dalton Kincaid<\/a> has many varying opinions out there about him.<\/p>\n

Both within the broad scope of the national media and the fanbase known as Bills Mafia<\/a>, the former Bills\u2019 first-round pick has been a bit of a hot-button topic ever since he first entered the league out of The University of Utah in April 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t been a bust by any stretch of the imagination, but the 6-foot-3, 246-pounder also hasn\u2019t lived up to the expectations of a player<\/a> whom Buffalo traded up two spots to secure on Day 1 of the draft that spring evening just a few short seasons ago.<\/p>\n

However, the one-time Utes\u2019 playmaker has still been fairly productive, and he\u2019s consistently teetering on the verge of becoming a potential superstar. So, although there\u2019s been frustrations with health and unsteady output on the field, a new contract is undoubtedly on the horizon soon, and two other tight ends from the 2023 NFL Draft\u2014Green Bay Packers\u2019 tight end Tucker Kraft and Las Vegas Raiders\u2019 Michael Mayer\u2014might\u2019ve just paved the way for the parameters of his next deal.<\/p>\n

Packers\u2019 TE Kraft, Raiders\u2019 TE Mayer sign new deals ahead of Kincaid\"Green<\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers’ tight end Tucker Kraft (85) points to the crowd as he walks off the field after defeating the Washington Commanders on Thursday, September 11, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Kraft, who was taken 53 selections after Kincaid in the third round three years ago at pick No. 78 by the Packers, just inked a massive four-year extension on Saturday afternoon worth up to $92 million, while Mayer\u2014a player also selected after Kincaid at pick No. 35 in the second round of the 2023 draft out of the University of Notre Dame\u2014also came to an agreement with Las Vegas seemingly mere moments later on a three-year extension worth $45 million with $30 million guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Kincaid is still waiting on his new deal despite being considered a key cog<\/a> in Buffalo\u2019s upcoming run toward a Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills’ tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) tries to prevent New York Jets’ linebacker Jamien Sherwood (44) from tackling him during a past NFL game on Sunday, September 14, 2025, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

He\u2019s currently playing on the fourth year of his rookie contract, which is worth $13.43 million in total according to Spotrac<\/a>. And, although his fifth-year option was picked up, there\u2019s been little noise on the extension front for the Summerlin, Nevada, native, who has made $11.01 million in career earnings thus far according to the same data site.<\/p>\n

But, with that in mind, is Buffalo playing it smart with their former first-rounder? Is he really worth a lofty future investment<\/a> moving forward?<\/p>\n

That depends on whom you might ask.<\/p>\n

Kincaid\u2019s injury issues, unsteady production make new contract unsettling\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills’ tight end Dalton Kincaid jokes coaches and teammates before Day 2 of Buffalo’s training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, New York, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The Nevada native has dealt with a plethora of injuries since entering the league, which includes struggles with a left LCL injury that he recently elected to forgo surgery on during the offseason, and he\u2019s only managed to start 13 games over the last two seasons according to Pro Football Reference<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, the injury concerns are legitimate. And, any fan or media member who might question his long-term outlook are certainly validated in their concerns.<\/p>\n

Heck, already set to turn 27 years old on October 18 later this fall, Kincaid is older than both Mayer and Kraft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mayer just turned 25 years old in July, while Kraft is only going to be 26 years old on November 3.<\/p>\n

And, furthermore, Kincaid\u2019s production hasn\u2019t been THAT much better than either players\u2019 when stepping back and looking at their first three years of NFL production in comparison.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Buffalo Bills’ tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) drops a pass in the fourth quarter of a past AFC championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Through three regular seasons, Buffalo\u2019s tight end<\/a> has tallied 156 receptions for 1,692 yards and nine touchdowns, while Kraft (113 rec.; 1,551 yds; 15 TDs) and Mayer (83 rec.; 788 yds; 3 TDs) have combined for 196 catches for 2,339 yards and 18 touchdowns for their respective teams over the same span of time.<\/p>\n

The kicker, as mentioned before, is Kincaid\u2019s health.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His questionable availability and limited use at times, which has been to presumably better preserve him for the playoffs, has allowed the Bills\u2019 top tight end to only start 24 of his 41 career games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t been ideal: clearly.<\/p>\n

And, when looking at Mayer (32 starts) and Kraft (33 starts), it makes it even worse considering both players have started over 30 games since 2023.<\/p>\n

What might future contract look like in coming months or year for Bills\u2019 TE Dalton Kincaid?\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills’ tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter of lthe AFC wild-card playoff matchup between the Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Florida. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

So, keeping all of that in mind, it makes a future contract a little difficult to decipher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, both of the recent extensions definitely clear things up<\/a> slightly for Brandon Beane<\/a> and the rest of Buffalo\u2019s front office, but it\u2019s not hard to see why they might be dragging their feet a little on consummating a new deal.<\/p>\n

Might another contract come soon from Beane for Kincaid, though? He did just lock up Kincaid\u2019s fellow 2023 draft class member, O\u2019Cyrus Torrence<\/a>, to a new extension earlier this summer<\/a>, so it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

His contract landing somewhere between Mayer and Kraft would be logical.<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/p>\n

Jan. 17, 2026; Denver, CO, USA; Buffalo Bills’ tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Denver Broncos during the fourth quarter of an AFC divisional-round playoff game | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

And, given Kincaid\u2019s age, maybe a three-year future pact like Mayer just signed makes the most sense in this situation.<\/p>\n

So, be on the lookout for a deal somewhere around a three-year, $59 million extension for Kincaid . . . maybe even more.<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll be interesting to see if it comes to fruition<\/a> somewhere down the line in the near future, and what the reaction would be<\/a> like from Bills Mafia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Surely, they\u2019d react calmly, right?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, a strong start to the 2026 season would be a good start to quieting the masses . . . and staying on the field.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Sign up for OnSI\u2019s Free Buffalo Bills Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0\u2014<\/p>\n

\"\"Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buffalo Bills\u2019 fourth-year tight end Dalton Kincaid has many varying opinions out there about him. Both within the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894472,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-894471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}