Keon Coleman had a rough second season with the Buffalo Bills. No one would really argue that.
But the whole scope of it took on a new tone earlier this week when Bills owner Terry Pegula pinned the pick on the coaching staff (led by fired Sean McDermott) and said then-GM Brandon Beane (now president of football operations) was just “being a team player” to pick Coleman.
That didn’t make Coleman’s security in Buffalo seem great.
He’s got a couple more seasons under contract, but the trade speculation quickly took off.
Sounds like Coleman isn’t viewing it with as much concern, though.
This is how The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia and Tim Graham broke down Coleman’s side of thigns:
Following Pegula’s comments, effectively pinning the blame for the Coleman selection on the coaching staff rather than Beane, it damaged the Bills’ hand quite a bit. Beane’s attempt to repair what Pegula said later on in the same news conference was notable. That development, how Coleman’s second season went, and the arrival of a new head coach call into question whether Coleman has played his last down for the Bills.
A source close to Coleman told The Athletic’s Tim Graham that the receiver didn’t understand Pegula’s comments but quickly shook them off, has not requested a trade and is proceeding as though he will play for the Bills in 2026.
“He was taken aback at first,” the source said, “but he just went and worked out, getting ready for year three.”
Coleman learned about the uproar while visiting Bills receiver Tyrell Shavers in the Dallas area, where Shavers underwent knee surgery.
Despite Coleman not requesting a trade from the team that drafted him, you’d have to think the Bills will consider moving him in the offseason for a change of scenery. At this point, given those comments, their leverage in any potential trade talks has likely worsened. It would be a surprise if the Bills could get much more than either a late-round pick or a late-round pick swap at this point.
Coleman is an athletically gifted wideout with a background as a basketball standout, too, and he has made the occasional big play during his first two seasons with the Bills.
But this year, he showed up late to meetings on multiple occasions, resulting in benchings.
It’s hard to know whether Coleman will get the off-field stuff in order going forward, and whether that will help improve his on-field contributions.
The Bills wouldn’t necessarily want to give up on a second-round pick after just two seasons, but they also have to make sure Josh Allen has good enough receivers going forward. It remains to be seen whether Coleman will fit into that picture or not.