Quintin Morris has done the most important thing an NFL player can do.
Just take it from Buffalo Bills tight ends coach Rob Boras.
“He’s earned the confidence of the offensive coaches,” Boras said of Morris, who is heading into his fourth season with the team. “We have all the faith in him to go in at a moment’s notice and perform, whether it’s in-line blocking or in the pass game. I think once he’s seen how much that we trust him, it’s built some confidence in himself.”
If they are healthy, Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid are likely to command most of the playing time at tight end. Morris knows that. But if Knox or Kincaid were to miss time because of an injury, or simply need to come out for a play or two, the Bills are comfortable with Morris stepping into the lineup and the offense not missing a beat.
People are also reading…
“Just doing whatever the team asks of me,” Morris said last month in an interview with The Buffalo News. “Being ready, in case one of the guys goes down. Even now, we’ve been working on a lot of ‘13’ stuff (one running back, three tight ends in the play), so whenever I can get in there and do my job and help the team, I’m willing to do that. If one of those guys were to go down and I’ve got to step up (for an extended amount of time), I can do that, too.”
The Bills signed Morris as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Bowling Green following the 2021 NFL draft. He spent his rookie year on the practice squad before making the 53-man roster each of the past two seasons, appearing in 29 regular-season games and making 10 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
While the Bills have had three offensive coordinators during Morris’ time in Buffalo, his position coach, Boras, has been the same, providing some valuable continuity.
“He’s hard, man,” Morris said with a laugh about playing for Boras. “You ask most of the guys, they’ll tell you he’s hard, but we know he loves us all. I wouldn’t have it any other way, because I know just the way he coaches everything, you’re going to be on the field with a little voice in your head. There will be times where I call on that little voice because it tells me what’s going on.”
As the No. 3 tight end on the active roster, Morris has to be prepared to step in for either Knox or Kincaid, who are used in different ways.
“So when I’m in the playbook, I’ve got to take a peek at everything, because you never know what can happen in the course of a game,” he said. “It’s being ready when your number is called.”
Working with the same position coach for going on four seasons has helped Morris learn the intricacies of the playbook. It’s also helped him feel more comfortable in what was a relatively new position for Morris coming into the NFL. He played wide receiver for his first three college seasons, so tight end was still quite new for him when he became a professional.
“It’s just him really learning the nuances of the position since he’s been here, and then being able to not think as much,” Boras said. “We started to see that last year when he was just playing, you know, with reacting and not thinking so much, it got better for him.”
Morris played 30% of the Bills’ offensive snaps in 2022, but that number dropped to 18% in 2023, likely because of the addition of Kincaid, who was drafted in the first round and was a prized rookie last year.
Kincaid is again expected to be a big part of the offense in 2024, and Knox signed a big contract extension, so he will see the field a lot, too. That leaves Morris’ offensive role somewhat up in the air. On special teams, he’s again expected to be a leader. Morris has played at least 75% of the snaps on special teams in each of his two seasons on the active roster.
“With my position right now, you never know how I could be used, so I’m not going to sit here and say ‘I want to have this many touchdowns’ or this or that,” he said. “It’s really just be the best player I can be for my team.”