Cole Beasley’s productive three-year run as the Buffalo Bills’ slot receiver is over.
The Bills released the soon-to-be 33-year-old wideout Wednesday after not being able to execute a trade for him.
The Bills save $6.1 million against the salary cap this season with the move. In the wake of the big move to sign Von Miller Wednesday, the Bills’ need for more cap space was obvious. The fact the Bills were likely to need to create more cap space surely limited his trade prospects.
Beasley caught 82 passes each of the past two seasons, second on the team both years behind Stefon Diggs. Beasley ranked No. 2 in the NFL in catches out of the slot each of the last two seasons, with 69 in 2021 and 78 in 2020.
Overall, the Bills paid Beasley an average of $7.6 million a year the past three seasons and got a lot for their money. He finishes his Buffalo tenure with 233 catches and 11 touchdown receptions.
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Beasley’s departure leaves a big hole in the slot in the Buffalo offense. His ability to get quick initial separation was a big benefit to quarterback Josh Allen. Beasley and Allen developed a great feel for how he would run the many option routes in the Buffalo offense. Beasley is a master at giving the QB a good target in holes in zone defenses.
However, Beasley’s playing time waned a bit late last season as the Bills’ offense gained momentum on the road to the playoffs. Beasley played 65% of the offensive snaps overall. But the Bills made more use of Isaiah McKenzie’s speed and McKenzie’s ability to get open vs. man-to-man coverage later in the year. Over the last five games, counting playoffs, Beasley averaged 45% of the snaps.
Another factor in the drop was the Bills’ use later in the year of more varied personnel packages to enhance their play-action pass game, help the run game and keep defenses off balance.
Like most teams, the Bills still are going to rely a on a three-receiver set the most. They used it 70% last season. But the over-reliance on the spread – they used three- and four-receiver sets 87.5% in 2020 – probably is not the direction the offense is headed.
McKenzie will be at least part of the solution to replacing Beasley. McKenzie, who re-signed with Buffalo on Sunday, caught 20 passes last season. Diggs plays some out of the slot, too. He caught 33 of his 103 passes from an inside receiving position.
Will McKenzie get half of Beasley’s snaps? More than that? Less? There’s a long way to go before that can be estimated. The Bills are going to add more receivers to their roster this offseason.
The NFL draft is deep in slot-receiving prospects.
Exactly why Beasley wanted to seek a trade is uncertain. There’s a good chance the Bills, needing to create cap space, wanted him to take some kind of a pay cut.
As an unvaccinated player, Beasley bristled at the NFL’s vaccine regulations the past year. He also was put off early in the season when he drew some boos over his stance from the home crowd in Orchard Park. However, the NFL halted all aspects of its Covid protocols early this month, so his vaccination status, for now, seems it will be a non-issue next season.
Beasley was due to make $6.1 million in base salary and bonus money from the Bills in 2022. His cap hit was going to be $7.6 million. He still will count $1.5 million in “dead money” against the Bills’ cap.
