The Buffalo Bills have been active so far in free agency, signing new players, re-signing their own players, and restructuring the contracts of their own players. But, there is one major concern that has yet to be addressed: Cole Beasley and the slot receiver position.
On March 4, the Bills granted Beasley permission to seek a trade, and now they’re in a position where they can trade him, release him, or perhaps bring him back at a pay cut.
For the past three seasons, Beasley has been a reliable slot option for Josh Allen. He’s had 82 catches in each of the last two years. But, in 2021, his 82 catches went for 274 fewer yards than the year prior as he struggled with yards after the catch.
Yards after catch is an area the Bills offense lacked in 2021. Josh Allen ranked last in the NFL in terms of passing yards coming after the catch. Only 1,737 of his 4,407 passing yards were of the after-the catch variety – just 39%. Other top quarterbacks in the AFC, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, had 55% and 48% of their yards come after the catch, respectively.
The Bills recently re-signed WR Isaiah McKenzie, who served as Beasley’s backup in the slot position, most notably filling in for Beasley in week 16 this year against the Patriots, where he posted 11 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown. But, he totaled just 20 catches in 2021. McKenzie is entering his sixth year in the league and has never had more than 30 catches in a season. Is this a guy that can be trusted as a potential full-time slot replacement? Most likely not.
Beasley, who will be turning 33 years old in 2022, is slated to have a cap hit of $6.1 million this year. Cutting him would save $5.3 million against the salary cap this year, but would result in dead cap hits the next two years of $2 million and $1.5 million, respectively. So, a trade is most likely if the Bills plan to move on from the veteran WR who has seemingly lost a step due to age and injury.
