Things look pretty grim right now for Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman.
The 22-year-old wideout was benched for the second straight game in Buffalo’s 23-19 “Thursday Night Football” loss to the Houston Texans to kick off Week 12.
Coleman was also a healthy scratch the previous week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being late to a team meeting. In total, Coleman has been benched three times in his two-year career for disciplinary reasons, prompting many to worry about whether he’s a fit for the organization long-term.
Head coach Sean McDermott addressed exactly why he made Coleman sit out for the second straight game, seemingly downplaying the seriousness of the situation.
“Nothing new, we’re just taking it one day at a time right now,” McDermott told reporters. “I thought he had a better week, and we’ll move forward one day at a time.”
Does Keon Coleman Have a Future With the Bills?
After a breakout 8-catch, 112-yard, 1-touchdown game in Buffalo’s Week 1 win over the Baltimore Ravens, many believed that Coleman was finally ready to step into the No. 1 WR role vacated the two seasons ago by Stefon Diggs.
However, the Florida State alum mustered just 24 catches, 218 yards, and 2 touchdowns in his next eight games, causing some fans to panic at the clear signs of regression.
While McDermott likely wanted to send a message to Coleman by stripping him of his playing time, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia recently reported the team’s frustration with the former second-round pick isn’t enough for the team to want to move on from him just yet.
“To be clear, the Bills are not giving up on Coleman,” Buscaglia wrote. “It looks bad right now for multiple reasons, but there is at least a modicum of untapped potential remaining for Coleman by altering his role, allowing his initial separation skills to shine on shorter area targets over the middle of the field.
“But much of his future remains on two distinct factors. The first is how they deploy him, and the second is how he responds to yet another self-inflicted setback.”
Coleman’s Path to Redemption
The fact of the matter is the 6-foot-4 Coleman is too talented and too young to cut ties with so quickly.
In the two games he missed, no Bills receiver really stepped up and proved the passing game was better without Coleman than with him either.
Khalil Shakir logged 8 catches for 110 yards against the Texans, but it seemed inconsequential given the offense struggled so badly. In the Buccaneers game, Tyrell Shavers had 4 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown, but no other WR had more than 3 catches or 30 yards.
After the Bucs game, Coleman addressed reporters, stating he understood why McDermott did what he did and that he knows he needs to learn from his mistakes.
While small, his words seemingly showed McDermott that there’s at least a path for Coleman to take accountability and grow from his mistakes.
“I’m aware of how he handled it more publicly, and I appreciate that and respect that,” McDermott said Tuesday. “And now it’s again, one day at a time, and earning the trust and respect of the teammates. And that takes time, so that each day that goes by, you check them off as wins, trust builds. So, that’s the important piece of it.”
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