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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills president of football operations and general manager Brandon Beane has continued his public support of wide receiver Keon Coleman in the days following the 2026 NFL draft, saying on local radio station WGR-550 on Monday that the team “shut down” a couple of teams that reached out with trade interest in Coleman earlier this offseason.
"We had some people connect with us in Indy, at least one team there, and a couple between there and the owners meetings. But we shut those down," Beane said. "Our intention is for Keon to be here, and so I think the word was kind of out. So, no calls this weekend.
"… We've hit the reset button with him, and hopefully the fan base and everyone's behind him. I think his best year is yet to come here in 2026."
The 33rd pick in the 2024 NFL draft has been present for the team's voluntary work this offseason and both Beane and coach Joe Brady, who was Coleman's offensive coordinator the last two seasons, have spoken highly of his work this month and have been consistent in their messaging of support for the receiver.
"Keon, it's not lip service," Beane said Saturday while discussing the wide receiver group. "We're excited about Keon and he's, the first few weeks here, it's been very, very positive. And I think you guys will see that in time and proud of what he's done."
The team used a fourth-round pick on UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell to add to a receiver room that also includes DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir and Joshua Palmer.
Coleman, 22, was the subject of outside trade speculation earlier this offseason following comments made by team owner Terry Pegula in the wake of firing coach Sean McDermott. Pegula said that it was the coaching staff that pushed to take Coleman, not Beane. Beane, however, has said that he made the pick even if there might have been a different order of player preference on the board between the personnel and coaching sides of the organization.
The receiver has had two inconsistent seasons with the Bills. The former Florida State receiver was disciplined by former Bills coach Sean McDermott in November for being late to a meeting and was a healthy scratch for four games. He also was benched for a quarter of a game his rookie season because of off-field timing issues.
By the end of the 2025 season, Coleman was Buffalo's sixth wide receiver. Coleman had 38 catches for 404 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games this past season.
"I told Keon, 'Just take advantage of this offseason, man. Getting the connection with Josh and working,'" Brady said last week. "And he came back, you forget how big he is, man. And really excited. He's put a lot of work in."
