Getty Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley warms up prior to the AFC Wild Card game against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2023.
With the Buffalo Bills facing injuries to their wide receiving corps late last season and in need of a reliable target for Josh Allen, the team did something that seemed exceedingly unlikely just a few months before — brought back Cole Beasley.
Beasley had left the Bills prior to the 2022 season, first requesting a trade and then being released when the Bills could not find a partner. But Beasley came out of retirement to join the Bills in December, providing a steady target out of the slot for the season’s final stretch.
The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia believes that will be Beasley’s swan song, predicting that the Bills will move on from him in the coming offseason as they reshape the receiving corps.
Bills Expected to Shake Up Receiving Corps: ‘It’s Time’
As Buscaglia noted, the Bills struggled last season to find reliable production in their wide receiving corps behind Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs. Third-year receiver Gabe Davis struggled with drops and inconsistent play, while the trio of slot receivers expected to fill Beasley’s spot — Isaiah McKenzie, Jamison Crowder, and rookie Khalil Shakir — dealt with injuries and spotty play.
Buscaglia predicts that the Bills will look to make some changes this offseason, which means allowing their free agents to walk. Aside from Beasley, returning veteran John Brown and special teams ace Jake Kumerow are also set to become free agents.
“As part of the refresh, it’s time for the Bills part ways with the names from their recent history,” he wrote. “Although Beasley, Brown and Kumerow provided a good role in the past, they can do better than Beasley and Brown on offense and they survived on special teams without Kumerow last year.”
Cole Beasley’s first career playoff touchdown!
📺: @NFLonCBS
Beasley was signed to the practice squad and elevated for two games, making two catches for 18 yards. He made a bigger impact in the playoffs, making five catches for 68 yards including his first career playoff touchdown in the Wild Card round win over the Miami Dolphins.
Cole Beasley Open to Returning to Bills
Though he departed Buffalo last offseason on less-than-fantastic terms in March 2022, Beasley seemed to mend fences upon his return this season and admitted that he could have handled the situation differently.
“There were some times last year where I would get some stuff from people and it would be a little frustrating just because before, it wasn’t like that,” Beasley said. “So, it was a change. Nobody’s perfect. I didn’t handle everything how way I wanted to. A lot of that was a big reason I wanted to come back, as well.”
After Buffalo’s season ended with a divisional-round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Beasley seemed optimistic about his NFL future and expressed an interest in returning to the Bills. Beasley told the Buffalo News this is “probably the healthiest I’ve ended a season in a long time,” saying he believes he can still contribute next season.
“At this point in my career, I’m still hungry and my body feels good,” Beasley said. “I still feel like I can do it and I can compete and play at a level that I’ve been playing at before this season. Obviously, I want to be somewhere that I can win, and I know that’s here, also. If that option is there, I would definitely do that. We’ll just have to see.”