The Buffalo Bills’ journey with wide receiver Cole Beasley came to an end on Thursday.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Beasley will be released by Buffalo. The team went on to confirm that news moments later.
The Bills wide receiver previously asked to be traded and the team granted him permission to seek a trade partner on March 4.
Evidently one did not come about and his tenure in Buffalo has come to an end via his release.
Early in the offseason, general manager Brandon Beane had stated that he would welcome Beasley back in the fold next season despite him being an obvious cut candidate.
Beasley’s cap hit stayed around the same as it was last season ($7.5M) in his contract with the Bills, but his dead cap hit drops from $8.4M to $1.5M, per Spotrac.
That cap savings put Beasley in cut territory–and this is why it was always very unlikely the 32-year-old would find a team willing to trade for him. Anyone interested can now just work out a contract with him worth less than $7.5M.
Last year Beasley had 82 catches for 693 yards with one touchdown. The season prior he also had 82 grabs but the rest of his numbers were better: 967 yards and four touchdowns.
On the field, Beasley was productive throughout his career in Buffalo. He was named a second-team, All-Pro in 2020 and nearly surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.
Off the field, things drastically changed for Beasley once COVID-19 and vaccinations became a hot-button topic.
The wide receiver became a polarizing figure on the matter as far as the NFL is concerned, so much so that he read a “pro-choice statement” early in training camp last season.
With the virus becoming less of a main headline due to the pulling back of safety protocols in the United States and distribution of the vaccine, Beasley has a good chance to find a landing spot in free agency. The off-field stuff will be less of an issue.