The Buffalo Bills didn’t see much from the bottom of their depth chart at tight end in the first preseason game, and have already parted ways with one of the players at the fringes of the roster.
The team announced on August 12 that they waived veteran tight end Matt Sokol, who had only joined the team a few weeks ago. The former New England Patriots tight end had a tall task ahead of him as the Bills are largely set in their tight end depth chart, but now will need to continue his NFL career with a new team.
Bills Trimming Tight End Room
Sokol initially signed with the Bills just before the start of training camp, joining the team after punter Jake Camarda and undrafted rookie wide receiver Kelly Akharaiyi. As SI.com’s Ralph Ventre noted, Sokol had bounced around the NFL quite a bit before coming to Buffalo.
“Sokol has made eight regular season appearances since entering the NFL in 2019,” Ventre wrote. “The Michigan State product has bounced around more often than most. The Bills are the seventh different franchise to sign Sokol, who served two different stints with three of the teams.”
Sokol spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Patriots, appearing in six games and serving mostly on special teams with no targets on offense. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and spent the 2024 season on their practice squad.
The Bills cut ties with Sokol on Tuesday to make room for a new addition on defense, veteran safety Tre Herndon.
“Herndon most recently played for the Saints in 2024 and the Jaguars from 2018-23,” the team noted in its announcement on Tuesday. “The safety has played in 84 games and started in 34 over his seven years in the league. During that time, Herndon racked up three interceptions, 32 passes defensed and 243 total tackles. Herdon also had stints with the Giants and Colts.”
Bills Tight Ends Struggled in Preseason Loss
The Bills are set at the top of their tight end room, with former first-round pick Dalton Kincaid at No. 1 and trusted veteran Dawson Knox behind him at No. 2.
The team could have some question marks behind those two, however. As SI.com’s Randy Gurzi noted, their backup tight ends didn’t show much in the loss to the New York Giants.
“Saturday was a rough day for backup tight end Zach Davidson,” Gurzi wrote. “A fifth-round pick for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, Davidson has been in Buffalo since 2022, but has appeared in just two games and has one reception for five yards.
“This season, he’s battling with rookie Jackson Hawes and might be behind after his struggles against the Giants. Davidson had four passes come his way, but caught just one. He also had a terrible drop, which led to a lot of criticism.”
Kincaid may also face some pressure in the upcoming season. After he was hampered by a series of injuries in the last two seasons, Bills head coach Sean McDermott issued a challenge to Kincaid to grow stronger in the offseason. Though he has shown some improvement through training camp and the first preseason game, Kincaid may need to prove himself in the coming year.
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