By Jordan Long
Free Agency in the NFL starts next Wednesday. Teams will look to improve their roster. The Buffalo Bills have given wide receiver Cole Beasley permission to seek a trade. There are plenty of teams who could be interested in the wide receiver.
Beasley is going to be entering his 11th season. This past year in Buffalo he was productive with 82 receptions for 693 yards. His average yards per catch was 8.5. Beasley only caught 1 touchdown pass, his lowest total since his rookie year in 2012 with Dallas when he didn’t have any. In the postseason run for Buffalo, he totaled 7 receptions for 79 yards but didn’t have a touchdown. His average yards per catch was 11.3.
Beasley knows the two main receivers for Josh Allen are Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders. He wants to go somewhere where he will be a bigger part of the offense. Beasley is looking for the right fit. There are few teams he might go to which include the New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, and Cleveland Browns.
The New York Giants make a lot of sense. Beasley could be the slot receiver between Kenny Golladay and Sterling Shepard, giving quarterback Daniel Jones another target. The big reason New York would want Beasley is his connection with Giants’ Head Coach Brian Daboll. Daboll was his offensive coordinator in Buffalo for the past 3 years. He knows his system.
The Baltimore Ravens may think about adding Beasley. Their top two receivers are Marquise Brown and Rashod Bateman. They don’t have a lot of experience in the NFL. Brown is going to be entering his 4th NFL season while Bateman is in his 2nd. Beasley might become the starting wide receiver opposite of Brown forcing Bateman to be the slot guy. This also gives quarterback Lamar Jackson another target. He could trust Beasley to catch the football to gain yards to improve their wide receiver core.
The Chicago Bears and the Cleveland Browns are the ones who should be the most interested. Chicago only has 1 wide receiver who has NFL experience, Darnell Mooney but it’s not a lot with 2 years. Adding Beasley gives Chicago a veteran wide receiver who Justin Fields can look for early and often.
The Browns are also looking to upgrade the wide receiver position. They need another wideout for Baker Mayfield. The only wide receiver on the current roster is Jarvis Landry. Adding Beasley might help Landry because there isn’t as much pressure for him to catch the football. The defenses have to decide which wide receiver they want to cover. If they key on one of them, the other will be open. Beasley will look for the best option for him. He wants a fresh start in another organization. His cap hit is around $7.6 million this upcoming year, not a lot for a team to take on. Whoever that team is, hopefully, he can boost their wide receiver core and maybe earn a playoff spot
Leave a Reply