The Buffalo Bills will be in some need of help in the wide receiver room, and one analyst believes a reunion with one of Josh Allen’s favorite targets could be in the works.
The Bills have been hit with a number of COVID-19 infections over the past few weeks, with wide receiver Cole Beasley being the latest to go on the reserve list. Beasley has been vocal about being unvaccinated, meaning he must spend at least 10 days away from the team and will miss the critical matchup against the New England Patriots on December 26 — and potentially more. As Spectrum News reporter Ted Goldberg speculated, the Bills could address their newfound lack of depth by looking to free agency to bring back a familiar face.
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Bills Looking for Help
As Goldberg pointed out, Buffalo’s former No. 1 receiver, John Brown, is a free agent and could be added to the Bills practice squad. Head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane have already showed a tendency toward bringing back their former players, and Brown would be immediately familiar with the offense and with Allen.
“With Cole Beasley hitting the Covid list, I’m curious if McBeane calls up old friend John Brown for the p-squad. He’s a free agent, is familiar with Daboll’s offense, and put up career numbers in ’19: 72 rec, 1,060 yds were career-highs,” Goldberg tweeted.
Goldberg added that the Bills already have two receivers on the practice squad who may be more likely to get a promotion to the active roster in Isaiah Hodgins and Tanner Gentry, but speculated that Brown could be an attractive target as well.
Brown has bounced around this season, going through training camp and the preseason with the Las Vegas Raiders before reportedly asking for his release before the season started. He later joined the Denver Broncos but was again released, and recently did a short stint on the Jacksonville Jaguars’s practice squad before a third release.
Beasley Out Indefinitely
It remains unclear how much time Beasley could miss. While he must stay away from the team for a league-mandated 10 days, if he becomes symptomatic or is too unhealthy to play, he could be out beyond the Patriots game. The Bills have already had some bad luck with infections this season, with starting left tackle Dion Dawkins being hospitalized in the summer and then suffering another infection this month that kept him out of the December 19 win over the Carolina Panthers.
OL Evin Ksiezarczyk has been signed to the practice squad. #BillsMafia
Ever defiant, Beasley spoke out about his infection this week and blamed the NFL’s rules for forcing him to miss the game against the Patriots.
“Just to be clear COVID is not keeping me out of this game. The rules are,” Beasley wrote on Instagram. “Vaxxed players are playing with Covid every week now because they don’t test. One of my vaxxed teammates is in the hospital missing games. I’m sure he didn’t get this same energy. Thank you for those who support. Everyone else, if you don’t get what’s happening then there is nothing anybody can do for you.”
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