Will the Buffalo Bills move on from Cole Beasley?

Last week, it was reported that the Buffalo Bills gave WR Cole Beasley’s reps permission to look for a trade. He’s been the subject of trade/cut talks all off-season and, now, it looks like that’s heating up. So, what would a Beasley trade look like, and would they end up releasing him if no deal is struck?

What the Bills would save

Cole Beasley is on the final year of a four year/$29M deal he signed during the 2019 off-season, with a base salary of $4.9M, and a dead cap hit of $1.5M. Trading/releasing Beasley would save the team $6.1M in cap space. During his three year tenure here, Beasley has been one of the leagues best slot receivers, proving to be Josh Allen’s most reliable option. While here, Beasley has totaled 231 receptions, 2,438 yards, and 11 TDs.

Would Beasley be traded or cut?

The Bills should be able to find a trade partner, with a good amount of teams needing a receiver this off-season. One team to keep an eye on? The New York Giants, with former Bills exec Joe Schoen and OC Brian Daboll in town. Both Beasley and Daboll have sung praises for each other in the past. “The dude’s an incredible coach, probably the best OC I’ve ever played for — not just schematically but as a person, too,” Beasley once said of Daboll. “The mentality he brings to the offense is incredible. He’s just like one of the dogs out there, too… Any time you’ve got a guy like that leading you, it makes it fun to go play.”

According to Brandon Beane, the Buffalo Bills currently have $-6M in cap space. They will likely need to make a good amount of moves to get back under the cap. Beasley is a likely cap casualty. If that’s the case, Beasley would have finished his Bills career with a second team All-Pro award.

So, what could the Bills get in return? Most likely, a day three pick. If I was one of the 31 other teams, I’d wait out the Bills and Beasley; let Beane release him before free agency. This is the most likely scenario.