Report: Cole Beasley played through three broken ribs during 2021 season for Bills

The veteran wide receiver, who is biding his time by working out in his native Texas with estranged Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, finished the 2021 season with 82 catches for 693 yards and one touchdown. Beasley's average of 8.5 yards per catch was the lowest of his career, matching his rookie season of 2012 with the Dallas Cowboys. That yards per catch was more than 3 full yards down from the career-best 11.8 yards Beasley averaged during the 2020 season.

According to a report Wednesday night, there could be a good reason for the decline. Beasley's agent, Justin Turner, told NFL Network's Mike Garafolo that Beasley played through three broken ribs the second half of the 2021 season. Beasley played in 16 games for the Bills in 2021, missing the Week 16 win over the Patriots after testing positive for Covid-19. From Weeks 9-12, Beasley was on the Bills' injury report because of his ribs. From Week 13 on, he was only on the injury report for veteran rest days during practice. 

Turner said the injury never fully healed and thus Beasley's mobility was compromised. Beasley is now 100%, according to his agent, and would like to continue his career. 

Beasley asked for a trade earlier this offseason, but the Bills were never able to find a partner and cut him March 17.

"Cole was a big part of our success. We brought him here in '19 with some of that free agent class, and that was Josh Allen's second year, we had kind of fixed the cap, and a lot of credit goes to Cole," Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said. "He did some really good things here. I think the Covid thing, I mean we all know he had a strong stance, and I think it just, it was tough on him, it was tough on his family. You know, not everyone agreed with some of his comments or his viewpoints – and I’m not talking about in the building, I’m talking about just ... he just felt that maybe a change for he and his family would be best if we could find the right spot.

"We weren’t just going to necessarily trade him anywhere. We told him we’d listen and be open. You know, we want people to want to be here, and make sure it’s right. I didn’t feel it was right to force him if he didn’t feel he and his family thought it would be a great fit for him at this point. So, ultimately, we also needed the cap space at that point, and we decided once we made some of these moves that it was time to let him see if he could find a different spot."

That search remains for Beasley.