PITTSFORD — Zach Davidson is patient.
There’s never been a point in his football career when he hasn’t needed to be patient. From the junior varsity team in Webb City, Missouri to Division II Central Missouri to the Minnesota Vikings to the Buffalo Bills, Davidson has always had to wait his turn.
Davidson has been biding his time on the Bills’ practice squad since 2022 and played in three games last year, making one reception for five yards. He had a superb training camp last season, but he’s getting an even bigger chance this year.
Gone is third-string tight end Quintin Morris. Veteran Dawson Knox has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the jump and Dalton Kincaid has been nursing a knee injury for most of the first week.
Knowledge of the offense has earned Davidson first-team snaps over rookie fifth-round pick Jackson Hawes and Davidson is looking to cash in. Patience has always gotten him to the desired location and now Davidson is hoping to use it again to make the 53-man roster.
“I’m just continuing to push myself to get better and better every day,” Davidson told GNN Sports after practice Thursday. “You hate to see injuries, but the reps need to be taken and I’m the first guy up.”
A scrawny 6-foot-5, Davidson was the backup tight end for Webb City High School’s JV team — nestled in a town of 13,000 people — and became the punter for the varsity team when the starter was suspended. Even as a senior, Davidson was a reserve tight end who played fewer than 20 snaps, but earned a spot at Central Missouri as a punter.
By the end of his redshirt freshman season, Davidson was 6-7, 235. Central Missouri coaches saw his athleticism when they saw him play high school basketball, but he didn’t catch a pass until his third season and had 11 catches going into his fourth.
After All-American Seth Hebert graduated, Davidson became the starter, making 40 receptions for 894 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2019 to earn first-team All-American honors. But his final season was pushed to the spring due to COVID-19 and Davidson entered the draft.
Davidson’s combine numbers were impressive, running 4.62 seconds in the 40-yard dash and posting a 37 ½-inch vertical leap at 245 pounds. It earned him a fifth-round selection by the Minnesota Vikings.
But Davidson didn’t make the active roster as a rookie, spending the entire season on the practice squad, earning a promotion to the active roster late in the season but didn’t see game action. He again didn’t make the team the following training camp and the Bills claimed him off waivers.
Davidson spent 2022 on Buffalo’s practice squad and signed a reserve/future contract for 2023. But he tore his ACL that spring and missed the entire season. Many players might have felt the end was near and start planning for what comes after football.
“There was never a doubt that I wasn’t going to try and come back,” Davidson said. “I just stayed the course and continued working. I knew my opportunity would come. I’m still working for that now.”
Players of Davidson’s status are often released with an injury settlement, but the Bills decided to keep him. He remained in Buffalo for his rehabilitation and came back in 2024, an afterthought for making the final roster with Kincaid, Knox and Morris all returning.
Davidson’s athleticism and ability as a receiver was noticeable during training camp, but not enough to leapfrog anyone on the depth chart. Citing Buffalo’s team culture and the opportunity to play with quarterback Josh Allen, Davidson bypassed opportunities with teams to make the active roster and signed to the practice squad, something he did again by signing another reserve/future contract in January.
“Zach’s a great example of our culture,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “… He’s just been a great addition from an energy standpoint. He’s a great young man and also a great family man. He’s out here working every day to improve. … He’s seen the adversity, he’s been through that and he continues to push through.”
Conventional thinking says Davidson’s time with the first-team offense is numbered. Eventually Kincaid and Knox will be healthy and Hawes will learn the offense.
Hawes was drafted to fill a role as a blocker and special teams ace, while Davidson’s best attributes are as a receiver. But Davidson didn’t make the Vikings as a fifth-round pick, so it doesn’t mean Hawes is a lock to make the Bills outright.
The Bills are going to be cautious with Kincaid and Knox throughout the preseason, though, knowing they have a handle on the offense. That means the 27-year-old Davidson is going to receive plenty of chances in practice and preseason games to prove he’s an active-roster-caliber tight end.
“Just a lot of reps that I haven’t had in the past,” Davidson said. “Every rep with (Allen) is a chance to get better. And the more trust you get from him, the better chance you got to make the team.”
Practice notes
Knox practiced with the team for the first time during training camp Thursday. He wore full pads and went through individual drills, but did not participate in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 sessions, with the same plan given to receiver Tyrell Shavers (ankle).
Defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (illness), guard Mike Edwards (heat) and receiver K.J. Hamler (heat) all practiced Thursday after missing Tuesday’s practice. Guard Alec Anderson had his knee scoped and the Bills have deemed him week to week.
The Bills also activated right tackle Spencer Brown off the physically unable to perform list. Brown missed the first week of camp with a back injury.
After being injured Tuesday, the Bills waived undrafted rookie defensive end Hayden Harris. The team replaced him by signing defensive end Kameron Cline.
The Bills claimed Cline off waivers during the 2023 offseason. He spent 2023 on the practice squad and started 2024 on the practice squad. Cline was elevated for the season opener but released Dec. 17, 2024 and signed with the Jets a week later.
• Allen made his best throw of camp thus far during 7-on-7s Thursday. He threw a rope to the corner of the end zone, fitting the ball just out of cornerback Dane Jackson’s reach and into the arms of Keon Coleman.
• Taylor Rapp also made a strong play a few minutes later. The safety dove to tip an Allen pass away from Davidson, who was streaking along the back of the end zone.
• Rapp later got into a scrap with receiver Kristian Wilkerson, who operated as the No. 3 receiver with Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore not participating in team drills. The tussle was quickly broken up by Christian Benford. But a few players later, safety Damar Hamlin knocked Wilkerson to the turf on the opposite side of the play. Wilkerson didn’t appear to appreciate the contact and ignored Hamlin when he stuck out his hand to help him to his feet.
The Bills travel to Highmark Stadium for the Return of the Blue and Red practice at 5:30 p.m. Friday.