Buffalo Bills place four, including tight end Dawson Knox, on reserve/COVID-19 list
Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox has been placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list after testing positive for COVID-19, the Bills announced Saturday. He did not travel with the team to New Jersey for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.
Through the NFL’s contact tracing protocols, the team announced fellow tight ends Lee Smith, Nate Becker and Tommy Sweeney were all in close contact with Knox and were also placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Becker was on the Bills’ practice squad, and Sweeney was on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
With those four out Sunday, Buffalo has just two tight ends on its roster: Tyler Kroft and rookie Reggie Gilliam. Kroft was not at the facility during the potential spread of the virus because his wife, Lexi, was giving birth to their daughter. He was at practice Friday afternoon, but missed the meetings that would have put him in close contact with Knox.
Knox, whom the Bills selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft out of Mississippi, is the team’s starting tight end but has missed two games this season due to a calf injury and a concussion.
Buffalo was one of the first teams to register multiple positive tests during training camp, when five positive results came back during the first week of camp. The team temporarily closed its facility as a precaution. Multiple players registered a positive test in August, as well, including quarterback Josh Allen but they were quickly deemed false positives.
In other roster moves, the Bills placed linebacker Tyrel Dodson on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and called up wide receiver Duke Williams, linebacker Andre Smith, cornerback Dane Jackson and offensive lineman Jordan Devey.