Cole Beasley Surprises Many Fans with Retirement Announcement
The Buffalo Bills made plenty of tough roster decisions this past off-season, as they tried to both improve the roster, while navigating the salary cap.
One of the hard decisions made by general manager Brandon Beane was releasing wide receiver Cole Beasley after three seasons with the organization.
After being a free agent until the start of the regular season, Beasley signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and decided to play with Tom Brady, starting out on the practice squad.
On Wednesday, however, Beasley had a change of heart and decided to walk away from the game of football.
According to The NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Beasley's agents have confirmed that the veteran wide receiver has decided to retire, effective immediately.
Beasley was an undrafted free agent out of the SMU in 2012. He made the Dallas Cowboys roster and quickly turned himself into a solid slot receiver in the NFL.
After seven seasons with Dallas, Beasley signed a free agent contract with the Bills in 2019 and caught 231 passes in three regular seasons with Buffalo, on his way to three consecutive playoff appearances.
Due to cap restraints, the Bills decided to cut Beasley and he stayed a free agent until signing with the Buccaneers on September 21st. He only played in two games for Tampa, catching four passes.
Beasley made national headlines in 2021 for his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine, which caused an uproar on Twitter.
Beasley was a terrific slot receiver in the NFL and was a perfect safety blanket for Josh Allen, especially in 2019 and 2020. He was the right signing at that time but the Bills ultimately decided he was expendable due to his age and money.
Beasley retires at the age of 33 with 554 career receptions in just over 10 NFL seasons.