Among the several memorable moments from the Buffalo Bills’ end-of-season news conference featuring owner Terry Pegula and general manager Brandon Beane, one moment has generated a lot of attention.
When the topic of the receivers and Keon Coleman came up on Wednesday, the Bills’ top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft took some criticism, likely from where he least expected.
“I’ll address the Keon situation,” Pegula said, after a question about Coleman was directed at Beane. “The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but (Coleman) wasn’t his next choice. It was Brandon being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff, who felt strongly about the player.
“He’s taken, for some reason, heat over it and not said a word about it. But I’m here to tell you the true story.”
About 25 minutes later, Beane attempted to clarify that Coleman was his pick and that he stood behind it, but by then, Pegula’s initial thoughts on the matter had already run rampant.
“He was my pick. I made the pick,” Beane said. “Terry’s point was that we might’ve had a different order of personnel versus coaching, and I went that way. But ultimately, I’m not turning in a pick for a player that I don’t think we can succeed with. So don’t misunderstand that. Keon Coleman is a young player that has been here two years, has two years left on his deal. It’s up to us to work with him and develop him.”
After that part of the news conference unfolded, it’s worth taking a deep look. Where did it unravel for Coleman in Buffalo? What’s next for him, and what will the Bills do moving forward at wide receiver?
How did it get to this point with Coleman?
When the Bills selected Coleman, it wasn’t without some debate. In what was categorized as a very strong draft at wide receiver, and with a desperate need at the position, the Bills resisted the urge to move up from their original spot of No. 28, most notably as Brian Thomas Jr. fell to No. 23.
Instead of picking where they were, the Bills elected to move down, controversially sending the pick to the rival Kansas City Chiefs, who then used the No. 28 selection on wide receiver Xavier Worthy. The Bills moved down to No. 32 — with another receiver going off the board when San Francisco took Ricky Pearsall at No. 31. The Bills moved down one more time, dropping from No. 32 to No. 33 so Carolina could move up to take receiver Xavier Legette.
The Bills then went for Coleman at No. 33, picking him one spot ahead of Ladd McConkey, who landed with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Coleman pick was a stark departure from what the Bills had previously valued at receiver and what had worked for Josh Allen.
Rather than a speedy separator, the Bills went for a big-bodied receiver in Coleman, who would have to win in contested situations. That archetype didn’t previously mesh well with Allen early in his career, so it was a bit of a surprise that they went that route.
Coleman hit some heights, with his best two-game stretch coming midseason when he had nine receptions for 195 yards and one touchdown in two blowout victories.
The following week, Coleman suffered a long-term wrist injury, missed four games and wasn’t the same the rest of his rookie season. Despite a slow finish and struggles overall at the receiver position in 2024, the Bills believed in Coleman so much that they mostly held in place at the position during the 2025 offseason, rather than going for an over-the-top move.
The only moves they made in support of a Coleman- and Khalil Shakir-led room were to sign free agent Joshua Palmer and add veteran Elijah Moore shortly after the draft.
In his second season, Coleman shook off some early summer inconsistencies to have a strong camp, and the Bills felt empowered that their bet on Coleman was paying off. The receiver was targeted early and often during those practice sessions, coming away with plenty of catches, many in contested situations, which had people in the building feeling like a Year 2 breakout could be on the way.
Then, in Week 1, Coleman had the biggest game of his career to that point, fueling a furious Bills comeback over the Baltimore Ravens with an eight-catch, 112-yard and one touchdown performance. It had even some of his teammates crowing on his behalf in a “told you so” kind of way.
That Week 1 result does need some context. Coleman had only one catch for 17 yards through the first three quarters and had almost all of his production in a throw-heavy fourth quarter. The majority of his damage was done against cornerback Jaire Alexander, whom the Ravens made a healthy scratch the following week. They also traded Alexander to the Eagles for a minimal return in November, and the cornerback retired 10 days later.
Regardless, Coleman deserves much of the credit for helping to fuel that comeback. Unfortunately for Coleman, that was the pinnacle of his Bills career over his first two seasons.
The rest of 2025 unraveled with Coleman’s inconsistency despite a high snap count. Over his next eight games, Coleman was on the field for 67.8 percent of the team’s offensive snaps — easily the highest of the entire receiver room. During that span, Coleman gained only 218 yards on 24 catches, which was a per-game average of three receptions for 27.3 yards. Coleman did not reach 50 yards in a single game over that span. Those eight games were a definitive marker because, after that, everything changed for Coleman.
Having already had two offenses for tardiness to meetings in his two seasons — once as a rookie, when the Bills sat him for an entire quarter, and then in Week 5 of this season against the New England Patriots, when Coleman did not play for their first offensive series — the receiver took his third strike.
Late for a late-week meeting ahead of their Week 11 matchup with Tampa Bay, the Bills decided it was time for a stronger message and made Coleman a healthy scratch. Without him, the Bills had one of their best downfield passing games of the season, which opened the door to a reduced role.
The Bills again made Coleman a healthy scratch in Week 12. Coleman returned to the lineup over the next two weeks as a fill-in for an injured Palmer. The Bills gave Coleman one last opportunity to reclaim his spot among the top five in Week 15 against New England, but he was held without a catch.
Coleman was a healthy scratch over the Bills’ final two games. Over his three games back in the lineup, Coleman was on the field only 43.3 percent of offensive snaps, a far cry from his 70.7 percent snap rate over his first nine games. Had the receiver room been fully healthy during the postseason, Coleman likely would have been a healthy scratch then, too.
Keon Coleman has shown some potential, but not enough to avoid being a healthy scratch. (Doug Engle / Imagn Images)
What’s next for Coleman?
Following Pegula’s comments, effectively pinning the blame for the Coleman selection on the coaching staff rather than Beane, the Bills’ hand was severely damaged. 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. Coleman 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.
If they can’t get anything of substance for Coleman, as long as he’s willing to remain with the team after those comments, their best course of action might just be to see how it goes this spring and summer. The Bills will need to see improvement in consistency, but if he’s no longer viewed as a significant piece for them moving forward, he will need to prove he can become a contributor on special teams to warrant sticking around.
If Coleman does neither, the Bills could be forced to move on from him for minimal trade compensation around final cuts if they can find a buyer. With some of their cap concerns, cutting Coleman outright after the summer would worsen the situation by adding almost $2 million to their cap sheet if no one picked him up off waivers.
However, a bigger potential concern is how the locker room might respond to what Pegula said about one of their players on Wednesday. Many of Coleman’s teammates are still close with the receiver. And seeing leadership pass the blame for his acquisition while he’s still on the roster might not sit well with those paying attention.
To Beane’s credit, he has always stood by Coleman and continues to hope he becomes a contributor for the Bills.
“We still believe in Keon Coleman here, and it’s up to us to develop his talent so that he can help us win games,” Beane said.
However, the days of Coleman being a serious consideration in how they build their receiver room are very likely long gone.
What should Bills do now with their WR room?
The Bills have no other choice this offseason but to overhaul the position. Outside of Shakir and maybe Shavers, who will be recovering from a torn ACL, the receiver room may be completely different in 2026.
Brandin Cooks, who arrived only in Week 13 and became their most important boundary receiver, is a free agent in March. Gabe Davis, who also suffered a torn ACL in the playoffs, is also a free agent. The Bills, who are cap-strapped for 2026 as it is, can gain $6 million back by cutting Curtis Samuel, who has been a disappointing free agent signing in his two seasons with the team. The Bills can also save by cutting Palmer, another disappointing free agent signing, and get $5.3 million back while using a post-June 1 designation. Cutting Coleman, as previously mentioned, would work against the Bills and their cap space this offseason.
The Bills attempted a big swing at wide receiver ahead of the trade deadline but ultimately couldn’t get the job done. Given their internal acknowledgment that they needed to be much better at the position, nothing that happened after the deadline should have been enough to change their minds.
The Bills are likely to make significant additions to the position. Considering their last two free-agent misses and the general notion that teams don’t let notable young receivers reach the open market, the likelihood is that the Bills will try to improve significantly through the draft, the trade market or both.
Everything should be on the table at receiver. That includes trading for a star player who may be growing tired of their situation. It could also involve making a bold move up the draft board to land one of the top receiver prospects available, which helps them from both on-field and salary-cap perspectives.
The Bills know they have to take advantage of Allen’s remaining prime years now that he’s entering his age-30 season in 2026. Expect the Bills to be aggressive about it this offseason. They cannot afford to run a similar group back next season.
