Desperately needing a win against a difficult opponent on Sunday, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott reportedly made a drastic decision on one of his starting wide receivers â one who the coach has directly addressed already this season. In a rare statement by an NFL coach, McDermott earlier this week publicly questioned the perceived level of effort exhibited by 2024 second-round draft pick Keon Coleman.
âWe address effort when it needs to be addressed,â McDermott said, as quoted by Alex Brasky, Bills correspondent for SI.com. âSo if there is, we address it. I can promise you that with any situation, any player, everyoneâs held to the same level across the board. So high pick, you know, not a draft pick, whatever it is, is I think that’s one of the great great things that we do is that even level of accountability.â
McDermott went on to admit that Coleman’s effort level has “been good at times,” but added, “other times it can improve for sure.â
New Report Confirms Coleman Benching
Just hours before the Bills face the 6-3, NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McDermott has apparently addressed Coleman’s effort, or supposed lack of it, by benching the 22-year-old receiver for the Week 11 game, according to a report by NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
“Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman will not play today vs. Tampa Bay in what was described to me as a coachâs decision,” Schultz wrote early Sunday morning.
“Iâm told itâs not performance-based â Coleman actually had a strong week of practice â but the team wants to see more from him in other areas,” Schultz continued. “Mecole Hardman and Gabe Davis are expected to be up as a result.”
Coleman Underperforming at NFL Level
The possibility that Coleman would be a healthy scratch from the Bucs game was first reported Saturday by the site Cover1. Schultz’s report on Sunday appears to offer further confirmation that the Bills will be facing quarterback and MVP candidate Baker Mayfield without the services of Coleman, who is in the second season of his four-year, $10 million rookie contract.
The Bills drafted Coleman with the first pick in the second round, 33rd overall, last year out of Florida State. In his one season with the Seminoles after moving from Michigan State in the transfer portal, Coleman led the ACC is touchdown receptions with 11 in 12 games, catching 50 passes overall for 658 yards.
In his 22 games as a professional with the Bills, Coleman has received seven touchdown passes, catching 61 of 106 targeted to him for 886 yards. This season, Coleman has managed just 330 yards on 32 receptions.
Coleman Faced Coach’s Discipline Twice Already
“That the team has played nine games and still doesn’t have a wide receiver to reach the 500-yard mark underscores how much of a position of need it is for the AFC playoff contender,” wrote Bleacher Report NFL analyst Scott Polacek on Sunday.
McDermott has imposed disciplinary action on Coleman twice already in the receiver’s brief career, prior to Sunday’s benching, according to Brasky.
“McDermott decided to keep him on the sideline for the Billsâ first offensive series in Week 5 against the New England Patriots due to a ‘head coach discipline,’” the SI.com reporter recounted. “He was also benched for the entire first quarter of a Week 3 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2024 season.”
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