The Buffalo Bills came up short at this season’s NFL trade deadline, with general manager Brandon Beane saying no teams were willing to make a deal that would help the Bills improve their wide receiver room.
But Beane remained active, picking up a pair of veteran wide receivers after the deadline passed with the intention of giving quarterback Josh Allen more weapons. They could be nearing the end for one of those signings, with an analyst suggesting the Bills bench a veteran wide receiver.
Bills Advised to Keep Branding Cooks on the Bench
After the Bills signed veteran Mecole Hardman — and watched him head to injured reserve after just one game — the team tried again, acquiring veteran receiver Brandin Cooks.
The well-traveled receiver has failed to make much of an impact so far, suffering two key drops over the last few games. SI.com writer Alex Brasky suggested the Bills could keep Cooks on the bench as they head to the playoffs in a few weeks.
“Moving forward, the Billsâ wide receiver corps should consist of Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, Tyrell Shavers, Gabe Davis, and Mecole Hardman due to his special teams contributions,” Brasky wrote. “Itâs not a great group, but itâs a collection that has proven, at the very least, to be a bit more reliable than Coleman and Cooks have been this season.”
Cooks has just one catch for 13 yards in four games with the Bills this season.
Bills Could Turn Back to Two Benched Receivers
If the Bills do choose to bench Cooks for the playoffs, they will have a replacement or two ready. The team has benched returning veteran Gabe Davis for the last two games and Keon Coleman for last week’s win over the Cleveland Browns.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott explained that it was a depth decision, with Hardman returning from injured reserve and holding more versatility as a special teams player.
âJust a combination of receivers that we wanted up [on the active roster],â McDermott said Monday. âObviously Mecole moved into that [No.] 5 spot there for primarily special-teams purposes but a little bit of receiver, as well.â
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady added that the team uses different combinations of receivers depending on the situation.
âThereâs been a lot of moving parts,â Brady said. âItâs not always an offensive thing. Sometimes itâs a teamwide thing, and thereâs roster moves. Offense, defense [and] special teams impacts it.
âWeâve had a different five [receivers] the last couple of weeks, and we might have a different five this week, but weâre going to go into each week and decide who we feel is the best five for the makeup of the football team, not necessarily just our offense.â
Buffalo’s wide receiving corps has struggled at times, with slot receiver Khalil Shakir the most consistent of the bunch and others bringing only inconsistent production. Allen has relied more heavily on tight ends Dalton Kincaid and, to a lesser extent, Dawson Knox while also getting reliable contributions on the ground from NFL rushing leader James Cook.
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