Plot twist: Cole Beasley is signing with the Buffalo Bills, not Odell Beckham Jr.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Beasley is signing a deal to join Buffalo’s practice squad.
The expectation is that Beasley, 33, will likely be called up from the taxi squad on upcoming games days, which is what the team has done with John Brown. Brown, like Beasley, formerly played with the Bills early in quarterback Josh Allen’s career and was brought back to provide depth.
Beasley was more recently in Buffalo than Brown. Beasley caught tons of attention in 2021 relating to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols and he became a bit of a lightning rod for attention because of that.
After an All-Pro year in 2020, his production dropped off a year ago. However, general manager Brandon Beane long said he expected Beasley to return to the Bills in 2022 but the wideout ended up asking to be moved and he was released in March.
From there, Beasley did have some negative comments relating to the Bills–Most of which were done on his social media account on Twitter like his COVID commenting.
Water all under the bridge now, it seems.
Beasley did not play with a team during training camp this past summer, opting to wait until the start of the regular season to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, after only two games, he went into retirement… until now.
Beasley caught 82 passes each of the past two seasons in Buffalo. That trailed only Stefon Diggs’ totals.
There was hope Isaiah McKenzie would slide right into Beasley’s spot this season, but that transition hasn’t been as seamless has most had hoped. In a full time No. 2 receiver role, Gabe Davis also has left a bit to be desired in 2022.
Over the past several months, there had been connections with Beckham. But the Bills are actually the second team to decide to sign another receiver instead of Beckham after his free-agent visit with the team. The Dallas Cowboys signed TY Hilton on Monday.
Most think those decisions for Dallas and Buffalo relate to their ability to immediately play while Beckham’s status is in question due to his return from an ACL injury.
Check back at Bills Wire throughout for the latest updates on Beasley’s potential status for Buffalo’s upcoming Week 15 matchup with the Miami Dolphins (8-5).
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