Beasley’s future

[Virgil]

I was listening to WGR today and they talked about Beasley’s contract being free to void after this season and thinking McKenzie filling that role.  This got me thinking…..

 

To me, Beasley had proven to be incomparable when it comes to finding open spaces in the zone and when our offense if clicking, Allen’s best 3rd down option.  On broken plays, he also finds open space and has incredibly reliable hands.  When we brought Sanders in, many of these traits were supposedly the same for him, but I haven’t seen that so far.  Also, I haven’t seen anything from McKenzie to make me think he could fill that role if Beasley left.  
 

Now, I don’t know how much all of that Covid stuff bothered the front office or his relationships with the team, but he seems to be a staple to this offense and I would love to see him finish his career here.  Diggs, Beasley, and Davis is a solid starting 3 to me.  
 

However, this is my perception and I’m curious to hear others 

[DasNootz]

He's a great possession receiver, knows how to get open and knows where the yard to get is... that said, I think he's replaceable and will likely be a cap casualty.  With Diggs, Sanders, Gabe and Knox - another slot guy will be able to get open.

[SectionC3]

Sanders might take his spot next year.  More speed in the slot.  

[RoyBatty is alive]

I think Beasley has been a tremendous asset for the Bills.   i would like to see him retire as a Bill but this might be the year to do it.  He will be 33 next year and the hits are starting to take a toll, he seems to be frequently banged up and he does take some brutal shots in the slot.  To he credit, sans the Jax game, he has been money holding on the ball.

[Reader]

6 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I was listening to WGR today and they talked about Beasley’s contract being free to void after this season and thinking McKenzie filling that role.  This got me thinking…..

 

To me, Beasley had proven to be incomparable when it comes to finding open spaces in the zone and when our offense if clicking, Allen’s best 3rd down option.  On broken plays, he also finds open space and has incredibly reliable hands.  When we brought Sanders in, many of these traits were supposedly the same for him, but I haven’t seen that so far.  Also, I haven’t seen anything from McKenzie to make me think he could fill that role if Beasley left.  
 

Now, I don’t know how much all of that Covid stuff bothered the front office or his relationships with the team, but he seems to be a staple to this offense and I would love to see him finish his career here.  Diggs, Beasley, and Davis is a solid starting 3 to me.  
 

However, this is my perception and I’m curious to hear others 

 

Since McK is a free agent too, also possibly we find someone new.

[ngbills]

Sanders is a free agent too

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

5 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I was listening to WGR today and they talked about Beasley’s contract being free to void after this season and thinking McKenzie filling that role.  This got me thinking…..

 

To me, Beasley had proven to be incomparable when it comes to finding open spaces in the zone and when our offense if clicking, Allen’s best 3rd down option.  On broken plays, he also finds open space and has incredibly reliable hands.  When we brought Sanders in, many of these traits were supposedly the same for him, but I haven’t seen that so far.  Also, I haven’t seen anything from McKenzie to make me think he could fill that role if Beasley left.  
 

Now, I don’t know how much all of that Covid stuff bothered the front office or his relationships with the team, but he seems to be a staple to this offense and I would love to see him finish his career here.  Diggs, Beasley, and Davis is a solid starting 3 to me.  
 

However, this is my perception and I’m curious to hear others 

 

pn this you may be mistaken Virgil 

first I’d say keep it to football 

 

To the point 

Could you play with banged up ribs where 200 pounds is pounding on you?
 

2 weeks ago it was Diggs #’s were down 

and BAM he’s back. 

[ngbills]

2 minutes ago, Sugar High JA17 said:

Woaahh Future tripping bro I dont do that!

Oh no. How are we going to afford Spencer Brown, Rousseau, AJE, our 2022 picks and 2023 picks? Better start dumping salaries now. 

[Chicken Boo]

Should move Diggs around more.  He can play from any receiver spot.  With Sanders and Gabe, I don't see Beez as a priority.  

 

He's replaceable.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

I hope they bring him back on a reasonable deal. Sanders us fast but Beasley is quick. He is an incredible asset and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. 

I don't see McKenzie filling that role. He doesn't have the hands or the route running ability Beasley has. 

[Cash]

I’ll trust the FO on this one. From my amateur viewpoint, it seems like Beasley isn’t getting any younger. He’s never won with size, but has won with quickness (not speed) and knowing how to find the holes in the zone. 
 

He’s about at the age where the quickness is fading or about to fade. The savvyness to find open spots in zones should only get better with experience, but will it be enough to offset the fading physical abilities? I think probably not. Especially if other teams play man to man instead of zone. I think Beasley is probably Good at best against man coverage right now, but likely to only get worse. If he’s an asset against zone but a liability against man, that still could be a liability overall. 
 

If the Bills move on, I’m not sure that the replacement is currently on the roster. But I don’t think they’d move on unless either:

A. Beasley is cooked and they know it, even if no one else does yet (ex: John Brown)

B. They have a plan in place to replace him. Note that the plan still might fail, but I’m confident that there would at least BE a plan.)

[Brennan Huff]

Beasley will walk next year. Need that money elsewhere on the roster

[TN Bills Fan]

Easy transition.  Gabe Davis on the outside and Diggs and sanders alternating in the slot is much more explosive than Beasley's 8 yards per catch.  

[sherpa]

I don't want to speculate about what happens in the post season.

When Beasley is targeted often, he is an incredibly reliable chain mover who keeps performing on difficult third down plays.

I think he is extremely valuable to us if we are to be successful this post season.

 

More so than Knox, who is still growing, Beasley is an incredible positive, impactful component to this offense.

 

Worry about the rest of the stuff in Feb.

[Aussie Joe]

You make the call at the end of the season so let’s see how he goes down the stretch…

 

But what he brings to this team is going to be hard to replace with the dollars they save by releasing him…

[auburnbillsbacker]

He's a bargain, right?  Why not keep him? 

[Warcodered]

7 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Sanders is a free agent too

And if the season goes the way we want he's probably retiring. I mean Beasley is getting older it wouldn't be that crazy if they're looking to move on before he really falls off.

[machine gun kelly]

18 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I was listening to WGR today and they talked about Beasley’s contract being free to void after this season and thinking McKenzie filling that role.  This got me thinking…..

 

To me, Beasley had proven to be incomparable when it comes to finding open spaces in the zone and when our offense if clicking, Allen’s best 3rd down option.  On broken plays, he also finds open space and has incredibly reliable hands.  When we brought Sanders in, many of these traits were supposedly the same for him, but I haven’t seen that so far.  Also, I haven’t seen anything from McKenzie to make me think he could fill that role if Beasley left.  
 

Now, I don’t know how much all of that Covid stuff bothered the front office or his relationships with the team, but he seems to be a staple to this offense and I would love to see him finish his career here.  Diggs, Beasley, and Davis is a solid starting 3 to me.  
 

However, this is my perception and I’m curious to hear others 

Virg. I think it’s a mistake to leave him early.  I was hoping he could wrap up his contract.  We’ll see.

[GunnerBill]

I think he is at risk in the offseason. I don't know that they can cut him and get better immediately at slot, but old guys making a lot of money, with easy outs in their conctract on teams starting to pay their young guys... they are always at risk. 

[JGMcD2]

3 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

You make the call at the end of the season so let’s see how he goes down the stretch…

 

But what he brings to this team is going to be hard to replace with the dollars they save by releasing him…

This!

 

I don’t think people get this… release Beasley to save ~$6M and then have to find his replacement for less than $6M to make it worthwhile. 

[sherpa]

Super talent aside, I think Josh owes a good deal of his success in the the past two plus years to having Beasley's instinctive play impact tough second and third down situations.

He makes the sum of the individual parts of our receiving core better that the individual parts.

[HOUSE]

Beasley will go straight to the Patriots and you will curse him the next 5 years

 

Another Danny Amendola, great

[corta765]

I think its not impossible he leaves if they need the cap space and if his play were to tail off. But otherwise I don't see a reason to do so outside of those reasons. His first two seasons he was Josh's best friend on so many plays he needed a guy underneath. This year he has been more up and down but so has the offense in general and I truly think his knee injury from last year has kept him back a step and isn't being talked about. That said he still has led the team in yards in two games this year and he has tendency in closer games to being the guy to make a big catch on a 3rd down.

 

I am just not sure they can get as good of a target for less money who vibes with Josh as well outside of cap/injury.

[First Round Bust]

Beasley and Morse are in the same boat- they are productive but have pricey "last" year contracts pending...thats what the off-season analysis is all about, it wont be an easy decision to part with either, but I can see them both gone for cap savings as I dont see either being extended or taking a paycut...'but who knows 

 

so then the in-house replacements ?   Would Jake K be a good slot guy...would Mongo be a full-time center ?  

[Straight Hucklebuck]

I think the Bills should look for better across the board at WR, including Diggs. This team is built around Josh Allen, so Tight End, WR are always going to be positions of need. 

 

You see a player like Debo Samuel last night? 

 

If the best player on the board is a WR, take him, regardless of Cole, Diggs, Sanders or Davis. 

 

I would not bank on McKenzie taking that spot, and I would not trip over trying to bring back the same exact crew. I like Sanders, but I'm convinced he has to be the #2 or Beasley be the #3. 

 

[In Summary]

Sometimes WGR has a lot of time to fill and makes arguments based on non football biases.  Beasley and McKenzie are different players. 

[Alphadawg7]

54 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I was listening to WGR today and they talked about Beasley’s contract being free to void after this season and thinking McKenzie filling that role.  This got me thinking…..

 

To me, Beasley had proven to be incomparable when it comes to finding open spaces in the zone and when our offense if clicking, Allen’s best 3rd down option.  On broken plays, he also finds open space and has incredibly reliable hands.  When we brought Sanders in, many of these traits were supposedly the same for him, but I haven’t seen that so far.  Also, I haven’t seen anything from McKenzie to make me think he could fill that role if Beasley left.  
 

Now, I don’t know how much all of that Covid stuff bothered the front office or his relationships with the team, but he seems to be a staple to this offense and I would love to see him finish his career here.  Diggs, Beasley, and Davis is a solid starting 3 to me.  
 

However, this is my perception and I’m curious to hear others 

 

I have thought about this too given how much more sporadic his usage is this year, he is not as "essential" it seems week to week in our game plan.  That being said, McKenzie is no where close to Cole in ability.  He doesn't have the same chops when it comes to route running, abusing defenders, and hands.  McKenzie has been outstanding as a returner, and love him on the team.  But our offense would take a hit if he had to replace Cole.  

 

To put it simply:  Beasley is a dog out there in all the best ways.  McKenzie is a finesse player.  

 

However, I don't know what Cole's future is here.  He certainly didn't do himself any favors when he was boasting about not adhering to COVID rules and doing what ever he wants even if it meant losing game checks.  But, I think that talk was just that...talk...and he seems to be, at least as far as we know, behaving and not putting his teammates at risk.  So maybe that is behind him now.   

 

I think Cole likely is a Bill come week 1 next year, but admittedly its not as much a foregone conclusion as I would have thought it would be at this point in the season.  

Edited November 16, 2021 by Alphadawg7

[Virgil]

42 minutes ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

 

pn this you may be mistaken Virgil 

first I’d say keep it to football 

huh?

[TBBills]

Gabe Davis needs more field time somehow b.c he makes some tough catches. It's just hard to get everyone on all the time, they need to and most do accept it.

[Rc2catch]

I think we’ll see Beasley and a few others gone. It’s an age vs salary kinda thing. We have seen players take team friendly deals, I’m sure if Beasley was fine taking a one year deal at a lower rate he’d be back. 
We could easily see 6-7 vets cut or not re signed. Jerry, Beasley, sanders, Addison, Klein, star to name a few possibilities. One of the reasons it’s important to get that ring this year. We won’t be rebuilding for a long time hopefully but we will have an influx of youth and lower tiered free agents that need coached up. It’s the key to staying relevant when that quarterback money kicks in. 
 

[mushypeaches]

10 minutes ago, First Round Bust said:

Beasley and Morse are in the same boat- they are productive but have pricey "last" year contracts pending...thats what the off-season analysis is all about, it wont be an easy decision to part with either, but I can see them both gone for cap savings as I dont see either being extended or taking a paycut...'but who knows 

 

so then the in-house replacements ?   Would Jake K be a good slot guy...would Mongo be a full-time center ?  

 

Dollars to donuts we are drafting a center in the first couple of rounds next year

[MJS]

McKenzie isn't anywhere close to the receiver Beasley is. If they let Beasley walk they need to bring in someone new to replace him.

[GunnerBill]

8 minutes ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

I think the Bills should look for better across the board at WR, including Diggs. This team is built around Josh Allen, so Tight End, WR are always going to be positions of need. 

 

You see a player like Debo Samuel last night? 

 

If the best player on the board is a WR, take him, regardless of Cole, Diggs, Sanders or Davis. 

 

I would not bank on McKenzie taking that spot, and I would not trip over trying to bring back the same exact crew. I like Sanders, but I'm convinced he has to be the #2 or Beasley be the #3. 

 

 

Better than Diggs? There are only 3 or 4 of those guys in football. 

 

I agree though that they should absolutely be open to a receiver early in the draft. 

[dave mcbride]

42 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I think he is at risk in the offseason. I don't know that they can cut him and get better immediately at slot, but old guys making a lot of money, with easy outs in their conctract on teams starting to pay their young guys... they are always at risk. 

I think a lot of it depends on how he plays down the stretch and in the postseason, and if he can stay healthy.

[BuffaloBillyG]

I said before the season that I believed the plan for Beasley this year was to get this season out of him and as long as Gabe Davis progressed they would move on from Cole. I stand by that. 

 

I think Bease is a solid player and a great security blanket for Allen. However he isn't getting younger and the injuries (yea even the ones he's gutted out and played through) are piling up. 

[BADOLBILZ]

40 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

This!

 

I don’t think people get this… release Beasley to save ~$6M and then have to find his replacement for less than $6M to make it worthwhile. 

 

 

Well you are assuming that Beasley will be the same quality player to replace and that the slot WR will still be as important in what they want to do in 2022.

 

 I think he's not looked as quick or fast this year.    Still good......but maybe not so good that you want to keep running 3-4 WR sets as your primary offense.

 

Also.........maybe Daboll finally gets the HC call.........I kinda' doubt it but maybe.........and then the new OC and McDermott want to run more 12 personnel or look a lot more like the offense that they were Sunday versus the Jets.   A bit more emphasis on the run and play action.    Maybe that money goes instead into that endeavor and they expect and pay for a little less at slot WR with it being less featured.

 

Also a very nice receiver draft in first few rounds again.    Maybe they look for speed there.

[BillnutinHouston]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

Now, I don’t know how much all of that Covid stuff bothered the front office 

 

It's evident to me that Beasley's COVID stuff HAS bothered GR, particularly the afternoon hosts, and that's likely why they were compelled to discuss it. 

 

[Mango]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

I was listening to WGR today and they talked about Beasley’s contract being free to void after this season and thinking McKenzie filling that role.  This got me thinking…..

 

To me, Beasley had proven to be incomparable when it comes to finding open spaces in the zone and when our offense if clicking, Allen’s best 3rd down option.  On broken plays, he also finds open space and has incredibly reliable hands.  When we brought Sanders in, many of these traits were supposedly the same for him, but I haven’t seen that so far.  Also, I haven’t seen anything from McKenzie to make me think he could fill that role if Beasley left.  
 

Now, I don’t know how much all of that Covid stuff bothered the front office or his relationships with the team, but he seems to be a staple to this offense and I would love to see him finish his career here.  Diggs, Beasley, and Davis is a solid starting 3 to me.  
 

However, this is my perception and I’m curious to hear others 

 

I agree, but I also think McKenzie brings his own pluses to the offense. I think he is much more explosive, but less shifty than Beasley.

Last year I thought McKenzie might be in the longer term plans after the Miami game last year, but for whatever reason the dude has never been used in any meaningful way again. I don't know if it is a sign of anything, or if it is the same as Brieda, Yeldon, Basham, AJE, etc. being healthy scratches even though they are productive when given the opportunity.

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Well you are assuming that Beasley will be the same quality player to replace and that the slot WR will still be as important in what they want to do in 2022.

 

 I think he's not looked as quick or fast this year.    Still good......but maybe not so good that you want to keep running 3-4 WR sets as your primary offense.

 

Also.........maybe Daboll finally gets the HC call.........I kinda' doubt it but maybe.........and then the new OC and McDermott want to run more 12 personnel or look a lot more like the offense that they were Sunday versus the Jets.   A bit more emphasis on the run and play action.    Maybe that money goes instead into that endeavor and they expect and pay for a little less at slot WR with it being less featured.

 

Also a very nice receiver draft in first few rounds again.    Maybe they look for speed there.

 

I agree I think he has looked a noticeable step slower this year. Not that he has fallen off the cliff or anything like that but he is, understandably at his age, on the downslope.

[FilthyBeast]

Not sure why everyone keeps making the assumption that this is Beasley's last year in Buffalo.

 

And still don't understand the McKenzie love and believe he'd easily replace him either.

 

Obviously anything can happen in the offseason which will no doubt be challenging give what little cap space this team is going to be working with but no reason to create a hole if Beasely can still be here at least one more year and be productive in the process.