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Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid at Highmark Stadium on September 18, 2025.
The Buffalo Bills are heading into Sunday’s critical game against the Pittsburgh Steelers missing some key players on offense — and that list could include one of quarterback Josh Allen’s favorite targets.
The Bills have already ruled out both starting offensive tackles for the game, and the outlook for tight end Dalton Kincaid isn’t looking good. While the Bills listed the third-year pass-catcher as questionable, a practice squad call-up announced on Saturday could set the stage for Kincaid to miss the game.
Bills Bring in Help at Tight End
The Bills announced that undrafted rookie Keliki Latu would be elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s game, which could be a dire sign for Kincaid’s availability. As SI.com’s Ralph Ventre noted, Kincaid was already facing a tough road given his practice schedule for the week.
“Kincaid has been out since leaving the November 9 loss to the Miami Dolphins with a hamstring injury. He finally returned to practice this week, logging limited efforts on Thursday and Friday,” Ventre wrote.
“With Kincaid not participating on Wednesday, and yet to complete a full practice since being injured, the tight end is trending toward unavailability for the third straight game.”
The Bills had elevated Latu for both of the last two games that Kincaid missed, so his third and final elevation could be a tough sign.
Kincaid leads the team with four touchdown receptions, even though he has been limited to eight appearances this season. He has been nursing a hamstring injury and missed close to a month.
Bills Bringing Makeshift Offensive Line to Pittsburgh
The Bills will be missing some other key starters on offense, with left tackle Dion Dawkins ruled out while in concussion protocol and right tackle Spencer Brown out with a shoulder injury.
That forces the Bills to insert reserves Alec Anderson and Ryan Van Demark against one of the league’s most talented defensive lines.
“They got a bunch of guys on their front that can absolutely go,” Allen said this week, via the Buffalo News. “Obviously, you have to know exactly where No. 90 (Watt) is at. It seems when you turn on the tape, everybody’s putting four hands and chipping and bringing a guard. They’re doing whatever they can to not let him disrupt the game as much as they can, but then you leave yourself susceptible to the other guys that they got.”
Head coach Sean McDermott said the team doesn’t have time to wallow in their misfortune, needing to take a “next man up” attitude.
“We can’t control who they have. Certainly a very talented front,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said Friday. “Our injuries are our injuries, so there’s not much we can do about that, either. All that we can do is control what we can control, which is our approach, our attitude, our togetherness and the execution of the plan. The plan has got to be on target, and then we’ve got to go execute it.”
The game will have major playoff implications for the Bills, who need a win to stay in a wild-card spot and keep pace with the division-leading New England Patriots.
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
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