The proverbial Bills bus drove over Keon Coleman, backed up and drove over him again, yet the much-maligned second-year receiver is managing to keep his head up.
Coleman shook off shocking comments from owner Terry Pegula about how top football executive Brandon Beane did not want to draft him in 2024, according to The Athletic, and is preparing to play for the team in 2026.
He has reportedly not requested a trade.
“He was taken aback at first,” a source told The Athletic, “but he just went and worked out, getting ready for year three.”
While Coleman may not have asked out of Buffalo yet, it’s hard to see how he remains with the team after they turned him into a human piñata during an end-of-season press conference this week.
Coleman’s lack of development has been a major concern for a Buffalo team that lacks playmakers, and Pegula basically blamed former coach Sean McDermott’s coaching staff for that problem.
To hear an owner openly blame others for the lack of progress from a player still under contract is a rather unusual tactic.
“Can I interrupt?” Pegula said after the just-promoted president of football operations Beane received a question about the wide receivers unit, including Coleman. “The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but he wasn’t his next choice. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff, who felt strongly about the player.
“(Brandon)’s taken, for some reason, heat over it and not saying a word about it, but I’m here to tell you the true story.”
Coleman, 22, can now use this as motivation in hope of rejuvenating his career or those comments could be what ultimately leads to a split.
The Bills selected the ex-Florida State star after trading back in a deal with the Chiefs that allowed Kansas City to select Xavier Worthy, and they picked him one spot ahead of Chargers star Ladd McConkey.
Coleman underwhelmed in his rookie year, tallying 29 catches for 556 yards and four touchdowns, and did not take the Year 2 jump.
He collected 38 catches for 404 yards and four scores, while also being benched at times and made inactive on gameday.
Former Bills lineman Eric Wood tweeted that the 2024 second-round pick brought the problems on himself.
“He knows he’s in bad standing in the organization. He was late to meetings enough to get benched multiple times. Its HARD to be late for meetings. Low effort constantly. He brought all the criticism on himself and he’s got to own that now. Still time, we’ll see…,” Wood posted.
The Bills would likely get pennies on the dollar in a potential trade, and Coleman’s value is not high coming off two underwhelming seasons.
Even if he stays with the team, Buffalo is going to have to revamp its collection of playmakers this offseason in its quest to finally reach a Super Bowl under Josh Allen.
Beane said he still has faith Coleman can help them win games, although Buffalo’s next coach surely will have a large say in that matter should Coleman still be with the team.
“It’s up to us to continue to work with him and develop him,” said Beane, who noted that Coleman has two years left on his contract. “His issues have not been on the field, they’ve been maturity things that he owns, I give him credit, he owns, he doesn’t make excuses, which I appreciate.
“We still believe in Keon Coleman here, and it’s up to us to develop his talent so he can help us win games.”
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