Is Cole Beasley important enough to Bills to bring back for 2022?

Cole Beasley equaled his career high in catches in 2021 with 82.

Only one player in the last 17 years – Stefon Diggs – has caught more passes in a single season for the Bills.

Beasley ranked No. 2 in the NFL in catches out of the slot with 69. Only All-Pro Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams caught more. It was the second straight year Beasley ranked second in the league in slot catches.

Overall, Beasley’s catch total in 2021 ranked 19th in the NFL. He was 21st in 2020.

In short, Beasley was pretty darn important to the Bills’ potent offense.

How critical is Beasley to the Bills’ offensive formula in 2022?

It’s a valid question, despite his production.

Beasley turns 33 in April. He has one year left on his contract and is due to count $7.6 million against the salary cap, 12th highest on the team. His salary is not out of line with his production.

However, the Bills need to create some cap space, and releasing him with a June 1 designation would save $6.1 million in space. Buffalo is currently about $1 million over the cap for 2022.

“Cole, he’s still under contract,” general manager Brandon Beane said last month. “I didn’t sit down with Cole at the end and see where he was at or things like that. But I would anticipate Cole being back.”

Beasley played 65% of the snaps in the regular season, not counting one game he missed on the Covid-19 list and two games in which he played with very sore ribs (at the Jets and versus the Colts).

But his playing time decreased late in the year as the Bills leaned a bit more on speed receiver Isaiah McKenzie and varied their formations a bit more, using fullback Reggie Gilliam.

Over the last five games Beasley was on the field (three in the regular season and the two playoffs), Beasley averaged 45% of the snaps. McKenzie played just 14% of the snaps the first 13 games, but played 39.3% the last six.

McKenzie’s speed threat enhanced the run game, and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll effectively used McKenzie to beat some man-to-man coverages late in the season, particularly against New England. Beasley is great getting open in zone coverage and can create quick separation on option routes against man coverage. But he isn’t running away from cornerbacks in man coverage like McKenzie.

“Cole had about the same number of catches ... maybe not as much total yards, and I don’t remember his touchdown count,” Beane said. “Cole can still play.”

“Late, Isaiah played some roles in some games where Daboll thought the jet motion, the jet sweeps, if it was press-man, Isaiah running across the formation or whatever it was, deep overs, that that was a better matchup,” Beane said.

“Sometimes Isaiah, when he got his chances, he made plays,” Beane said.

McKenzie is set to become a free agent in March. The Bills surely are interested in bringing him back. Will his market value make him too expensive for Buffalo?

Beane talks about keeping the Bills’ strength – the potent offense – strong. If they keep McKenzie, he’s surely going to play a bigger role than in the first 13 games (14%).

Still, Beasley and quarterback Josh Allen have developed a phenomenal rapport on all the choice routes the receiver runs. Beasley caught six passes in the playoff loss at Kansas City.

“A tremendous instinctive player,” coach Sean McDermott said of Beasley after the loss at Tampa Bay. “You look up the word football player in the dictionary and they should have a picture of Cole Beasley right next to it. That’s who he is. He’s a winner, tough. I just love the fact of his involvement in our offense. I think it’s a lot of ways, much like a good tight end is to a quarterback, Cole Beasley is to our quarterback in terms of trust and a high level of execution.”

A favorable option for the team might be to bring Beasley back at a slightly reduced salary, to save some cap space. Would he be willing? At his age, the chance to stay with Allen and a championship contender figures to be attractive.

As an unvaccinated player, Beasley has bristled at the NFL’s vaccine regulations the past year. But the NFL’s protocols aren’t likely to get any stricter next season. They might get looser.

Given the fact the Bills have other ways to clear cap space, the odds probably favor keeping Beasley for the final year of his contract.