Getty Bills wide receiver Isaiah Mckenzie's (R) tweet to his former teammate, retired NFL player Cole Beasley (L), got fans riled up on social media.
While the Buffalo Bills (8-3) get ready for their Thursday Night Football matchup against the New England Patriots, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie shot off a direct tweet to his former teammate, Cole Beasley, the latter of whom was released by the team in March, and suddenly retired from the NFL in October after appearing in just two games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
McKenzie tweeted on Wednesday, November 30, “@Bease11 what’s up?,” which instantly raised some eyebrows on Twitter. If Mckenzie wanted to catch up with Beasley, he could’ve simply texted him. But sending a public tweet quickly got Bills Mafia riled up.
@Bease11 what’s up?
Heading into Week 13, Buffalo could use some help at wide receiver with Jamison Crowder, Marquez Stevenson, and Jake Kumerow on IR. However, the Bills seem to be on top of that issue considering free agent Odell Beckham Jr. is scheduled to visit with the team on Friday, December 2.
While one person responded to McKenzie’s tweet, “Obj bouta pull up chill,” and another man noted, “If he could play he’d still be in Tampa,” many fans were hyped at the idea of Beasley possibly coming out of retirement to rejoin the Bills.
“yoooo 👀👀👀👀,” one person tweeted, while another fan asked for clarification, “You saying somethin lil dirty? 👀.”
Despite his recent disparaging comments about Buffalo, a lot of people want to see the 33-year-old back in uniform at Highmark Stadium. One man tweeted, “There’s some bad blood there but I think most of us would like to have him back,” while another fan wrote, “If he’s actually coming back that’s crazy.”
The Bills have already brought back two familiar faces as reinforcements for the back half of the season, linebacker A.J. Klein, and wide receiver John Brown.
Beasley Casually Responded to McKenzie’s Tweet
Beasley responded to Mckenzie’s tweet and kept things extremely low-key. “Nothing much,” he wrote. “Missing you buddy. About to take Ace man to basketball practice.” His casual reply did nothing to assuage fans’ hope that he’d return to Buffalo.
“The best slot receiver in the nfl history deserves a ring and the bills have the chance to get that ring. Come on man reach out to beane and make it happen,” one man begged, while another person wrote, “95% of us Bills fans miss you. The other 5% can’t separate people’s personal opinions and politics aside. You were great and still are great. Hope the REAL city of Buffalo didn’t leave a sour taste in your mouth when you left.”
Last year, Beasley paid a hefty fine for not following the league’s COVID-19 guidelines, claimed he’d rather die than get vaccinated, and accused Bills fans of booing him at home games.
McKenzie Led the Bills’ Offense Against the Lions on Thanksgiving
This camera got the perfect shot of Isaiah McKenzie’s TD 🔥
(via @NFL)
McKenzie had his biggest game of the season against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. During the Bills’ 28-25 win, the Georgia alum led the team in receiving yards, catching six receptions on 10 targets for 96 yards and a touchdown.
While the award for Week 13’s biggest catch went to Stefon Diggs, who grabbed quarterback Josh Allen’s 34-yard dart to instantly put the team in field goal position with just 23 seconds left in regulation, McKenzie’s uptick in usage was great to see.
WGR 550‘s Joe DiBiase compared Mckenzie and Diggs’ production throughout the first 12 matchups of the 2022 NFL season to Beasley and Diggs’ last year, which demonstrated how “Lil Dirty” has stepped up to fill his former teammate’s shoes:
2021: Stefon Diggs + Cole Beasley – 129 rec, 1406 yds, 8 TDs
2022: Stefon Diggs + Isaiah McKenzie – 114 rec, 1467 yds, 14 TDs
Thus far this season, in 10 game appearances, McKenzie has recorded a total of 30 receptions for 315 yards and four touchdowns. As for Diggs, he’s tallied 84 receptions for 1,110 yards and nine touchdowns. During the 2021 NFL season, Beasley caught 82 receptions for 693 yards and one touchdown. His yards per catch (8.45) was the worst of his career.
Back in June, Mckenzie said his goal was to develop the type of relationship Beasley created with Allen. “I want that chemistry that they had the past few years,” he said. “They built a great chemistry, and that’s what I want with Josh. When camp comes, I want to keep communicating with him and keep learning from him and just help the team win the best way I can.”