The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed wide receiver Cole Beasley to their practice squad last week and then activated him for their Week 3 game against the Green Bay Packers. He went on to catch three passes (four targets) for 12 yards.
On Monday, Beasley will revert back to the Buccaneers’ practice squad, making him available to 31 other team should they desire to sign him to their active roster. And should he desire to move.
That means Beasley remains in play for the New York Giants, who have strongly pursued him and continue to do so, reports Pro Football Talk.
The Giants have been the most persistent, we’re told. But the offers have been at or near the league minimum. Beasley, who has earned nearly $50 million in his career, doesn’t need to play for whatever he can get.
Although he’s on the practice squad, Beasley can sign with any other team — except the next opponent of the Buccaneers in any given week. If/when a team like the Giants sufficiently sweetens the pot, Beasley could choose to sign there.
The Giants aren’t exactly enamored with their current group of receivers, including Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, who each have their own set of issues.
The team is currently being led by a group that consists of Sterling Shepard, who is coming off of an Achilles tear, and Richie James Jr. and David Sills. Not exactly world beaters.
Plus, both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are intimately familiar with Beasley from their time in Buffalo. In fact, they are so close with Beasley that Tom Brady even called Daboll to thank him for failing to sign the receiver.
Speaking of Brady, we’re told he actually called Giants coach Brian Daboll (a former Patriots assistant) to thank Daboll for not being able to close the deal with Beasley. Brady was busting Daboll’s chops. But the deeper point could be that Brady has big plans for Beasley.
The problem facing the Giants is their lack of available salary cap space. They can ill afford to offer Beasley anything substantial and it’s not like they can sell him on Super Bowl hopes.
Still, Schoen and Daboll seem committed to the pursuit of Beasley and will likely continue calling him. Whether or not they ultimately lure him to East Rutherford remains to be seen.
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