Getty Cole Beasley #11 of the Buffalo Bills against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on October 18, 2021.
Despite having little cap space, the Buffalo Bills did an incredible job restructuring their roster in free agency. However, they wouldn’t have been able to sign a superstar player such as eight-time Pro Bowler Von Miller without letting go of veteran players such as Cole Beasley.
The Bills officially released Beasley on March 17, instantly clearing up $6.1 million against the cap. The 32-year-old wide receiver remains a free agent, and NFL Network’s Mike Garafalo reported on March 30 that he’s in Texas staying in shape with Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, the latter of whom is looking for a new home after the team traded for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
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From NFL Now on @nflnetwork: Baker Mayfield’s plan is to throw on his own (Cole Beasley, Danny Amendola and Alex Bachman are his current targets) while the #Browns work on a trade.
Meanwhile, Beasley is feeling better after three broken ribs affected his play late last season.
In addition to Beasley, Mayfield is throwing passes to free agent Danny Amendola, who spent last season with the Houston Texans, and Alex Bachman, who’s on a futures deal with the New York Giants. The Browns are having trouble unloading Mayfield because he carries with him a cap hit of $18 million.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry told The Athletic’s Zac Jackson that the Browns wouldn’t settle for a “suboptimal” trade, according to a March 29 tweet from Jackson.
“Baker’s a good player and you can’t have enough good players on your roster,” Berry told Jackson in an apparent text or email exchange attached to the tweet. “We’ve already planned to make it work and we’ll just see how the next few weeks go, and the next few months go. … We don’t really feel pressed to rush into anything that’s suboptimal.”
Beasley’s Agent Told Garafalo That He Played With 3 Broken Ribs Near the End of the Season
While Mayfield’s situation with Cleveland remains messy, Garafalo reminded “NFL Now” viewers during his March 30 appearance that Beasley is “still a free agent” and “he does have interest, but my understanding is that he’s looking for the right deal with the right situation. So he’s being patient.”
Garafalo said he asked sources around the league whether Beasley had anything left in the tank, and he said they told him, “Well, yeah, the first half of the season he did. He averaged 9.6 catches for the first half of the season and 7.2 on the back end — and they said, well, that was after he got hurt.”
Wednesday injury report
So, Garafalo said he called Beasley’s agent, Justin Turner, to address the drop in production. “‘Was he affected down the stretch?’ and Turner said, ‘Yeah he was. He had three broken ribs. They never really healed, which affected his mobility. So, that’s why he wasn’t as dynamic of a playmaker. But he feels good about where is right now, getting in that workout with Baker Mayfield and hoping to sign … a lucrative deal in the near future.”
In response, one Bills fan tweeted, “Sounds like there’s always an excuse with him.”
SB Nation’s Buffalo Rumblings pointed out on Twitter that Beasley didn’t remain on the injury list with a rib injury through the end of the season.
“November 24th he was upgraded to full participant,” Buffalo Rumblings tweeted. “If it was ‘impacting his play late in the season,’ shouldn’t he have been on the injury report?”
In 2019, Beasley recorded 67 receptions for 778 yards and six touchdowns. In 2020, he tallied 82 catches for 967 yards with four touchdowns. This past season, Beasley once again caught 82 receptions, but for 693 yards and only one touchdown. His yards per catch (8.45) was the worst of his career.
The Bills Replaced Beasley With WR Jamison Crowder
Jamison Crowder already knows how to score @ Highmark. YAC 🔥
After releasing Beasley, the Bills seemingly found their new slot receiver for the 2022 season in former New York Jets receiver Jamison Crowder, whom Buffalo signed to a one-year, $4 million deal on March 22.
During Crowder’s first season with the Jets, he recorded 833 yards and six touchdowns, but his performance has regressed over the years due to injuries and a continuous rotation of starting quarterbacks. Over three seasons with New York, he tallied a total of 1,979 yards with 14 touchdowns.
Crowder was initially selected by the Washington Commanders in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. During the 2016 season, he put up his career-best numbers, catching 67 receptions for 847 yards and seven touchdowns.
Jamison Crowder says he has watched Cole Beasley most of his career and thinks they both have a similar skillset #Bills
While it was initially expected that receiver Isaiah McKenzie would take over Beasley’s vacant role after he was extended a major pay raise, Crowder’s signing puts McKenzie’s exact role in flux.
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