Bills To Hire Pete Carmichael Jr. As OC
Just a couple days into his tenure as the Bills’ head coach, Joe Brady has already found his offensive coordinator. The team has agreed to terms with Pete Carmichael Jr., Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.
Carmichael, who spent the past two years as a senior offensive assistant with the Broncos, has worked with Brady in the past. The two were on Sean Payton‘s staff in New Orleans from 2017-18, when Carmichael was the Saints’ offensive coordinator and Brady served as an offensive assistant.
This will be the second NFL O-coordinator job for the 54-year-old Carmichael, who held the post in New Orleans from 2009-23. Carmichael won’t call the plays in Buffalo, however, as Brady will continue handling those duties in 2026.
Brady has run the Bills’ offense since taking over for the fired Ken Dorsey midway into the 2023 season. The Bills promoted the 36-year-old to head coach on Tuesday to replace the ousted Sean McDermott.
Brady will have a lot on his plate as a rookie head coach, but the hiring of Carmichael will add a trusted and experienced voice to his offensive staff. Carmichael began his NFL career as a tight ends coach and offensive assistant in Cleveland in 2000. He went on to serve in various positions with the then-Redskins and Chargers before Payton, then a rookie HC, tabbed him as the Saints’ quarterbacks coach in 2006.
Carmichael spent the vast majority of his 18-year Saints tenure working with future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees. He’ll now join a team with another superstar signal-caller in Josh Allen, who was at the helm of an offense that finished fourth in scoring and yards in 2025. The Bills also had the league’s leading rusher in James Cook, though the receiver position was a problem throughout the campaign.
Slot target Khalil Shakir was the only wideout on the team to reach the 700-yard mark during the season. He continued as the Bills’ most productive option during a two-game playoff run that ended with a 33-30 loss to Carmichael and the Broncos in the divisional round.
The Bills likely expected second-year receiver Keon Coleman, the 33rd pick in 2024, to take a step forward. Instead, though, Coleman caught just 38 passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games. Professionalism has been an issue for Coleman, who was a healthy scratch on four occasions in 2025.
After the firing of McDermott, owner Terry Pegula revealed “the coaching staff pushed to draft Keon.” General manager Brandon Beane then took ownership of the pick in saying it was his decision. Regardless, Coleman’s future in Buffalo seemed in doubt after Pegula publicly called him out. Now, though, it appears the soon-to-be 23-year-old will remain part of the Bills’ receiving corps next season.
“I told Keon when I got hired, the best thing that happened to Keon Coleman was me being his head coach,” Brady said Thursday (via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN). “I was one of the ones that stood on the table for Keon Coleman, and I believe in Keon Coleman.”
If we’re to take Brady’s comments at face value, Coleman will be among the players he and Carmichael work with in 2026. Meanwhile, with the loss of Carmichael, Payton and the Broncos are now in position to replace multiple offensive staffers after falling one win shy of a Super Bowl. Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi on Monday. Bills QBs coach Ronald Curry is among the candidates to become the Broncos’ OC, though it’s unclear if Brady considered him for the same job before he hired Carmichael.
Terry Pegula: Bills’ Coaches Pushed For Keon Coleman Draft Pick
As the Bills sent out several HC interview requests Wednesday morning, Terry Pegula conducted an interesting press conference. One of the topics covered a player who may not be long for Buffalo.
The longtime Bills owner interrupted football ops president/GM Brandon Beane on an answer regarding Keon Coleman, indicating the coaching staff pushed for the wide receiver’s selection in 2024. The Bills traded out of Round 1 to No. 33 and opened Day 2 of that draft with Coleman, but his second season — a playoff touchdown notwithstanding — brought considerable disappointment.
[RELATED: Pegula, Beane Not Happy With Sean McDermott’s Roster Assessment]
“I’ll address the Keon situation. The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said. “I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but [Coleman] wasn’t his next choice. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff who felt strongly about the player. And you know, he’s taken — for some reason — heat over it, and not saying a word about it. But I’m here to tell you the true story.”
The Bills traded out of No. 28, allowing the Chiefs to come up and draft Xavier Worthy. Two more receivers — Ricky Pearsall, Xavier Legette — went to close Round 1. Coleman opened the draft’s second night despite running a 4.61-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. Beane is quoted on a pre-draft video indicating Coleman’s 4.57-second 40 time at Florida State’s pro day would help the team land him, and the GM confirmed he signed off on the pick.
“I made the pick,” Beane said. “Terry’s point was that we might have had a different order of personnel versus coaching, and I went that way. But ultimately, I’m not turning a pick for a player that I don’t think we can succeed with. So don’t misunderstand that.
“Keon Coleman is a young player that has been here two years, has two years left on his deal. It’s up to us to work with him and develop him. His issues have not been on the field. They’ve just been maturity things that he owns. I give him credit. … He doesn’t make excuses, which I appreciate.”
Sending the Dolphins and offer of first- and third-round picks for Jaylen Waddle at the deadline, the Bills scoured the market for wide receiver help. The team evidently did not out-offer the Jaguars or Seahawks for Jakobi Meyers or Rashid Shaheed, and it ended up adding a few options — including Brandin Cooks — via in-season free agency. Coleman’s lack of development keyed the team’s wide receiver need, with Josh Allen having little in terms of reliability at the position beyond Khalil Shakir.
At the time of the pick, Beane said Allen helped coaches scout receiver prospects. Coleman was among those the superstar passer preferred. It has not worked out thus far. By not singling out McDermott, Pegula left the door open to multiple Bills staffers pushing for Coleman. Joe Brady, among the team’s HC candidates, was in place as OC by then.
Although Coleman showed promise as a rookie (29 receptions, 556 yards, four touchdowns), he fell off after an explosive Week 1 outing this season. Coleman finished the regular season with 38 catches for 404 yards and four TDs. This sophomore season included healthy scratches, with Sean McDermott citing professionalism as an issue for the second-year player. With Gabriel Davis and Tyrell Shavers tearing ACLs in the Bills’ playoff opener, Coleman was thrust into a key role once again to close the campaign.
Being drafted 33rd overall, Coleman is due guaranteed money through 2027. The Bills guaranteed $9.64MM of Coleman’s $10.1MM rookie deal. That will factor into any trade talks. Even as Beane attempted to walk back Pegula’s comments, it is uncommon for an owner to single out a player in the way Pegula did. That points to potential Coleman trade availability, as the Bills will surely prioritize the WR position as they change coaching staffs this offseason.
Keon Coleman A Healthy Scratch In Week 16; ‘Professionalism’ An Issue
Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman played a pivotal role in a 41-40 victory over the Ravens in Week 1. Coleman began his second NFL season with eight receptions, 112 yards, and a touchdown to help spark a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback. A 2025 breakout looked like a possibility at that point, but Coleman’s impact has been minimal since then.
Heading into Week 17, Coleman has underwhelmed with 36 catches, 355 yards, and four TDs in 12 games. Despite owning one of the league’s least effective receiving groups, and despite using a second-round pick on Coleman in 2024, the Bills have made him a healthy scratch multiple times.
Head coach Sean McDermott first benched Coleman ahead of a Week 11 win over the Buccaneers. He was inactive again the next week. McDermott punished Coleman after he was late to a team meeting, which wasn’t the first time Coleman had an issue with punctuality.
“It’s a professionalism thing — but he’s going to be OK. We need him,” a team source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN at the time.
The Bills didn’t consider releasing Coleman at that point, according to Fowler, but the 22-year-old hasn’t regained a guaranteed spot since then. After appearing in three straight games and combining for four grabs, 25 yards, and a TD, Coleman sat out a 23-20 win over the Browns last Sunday. McDermott confirmed he was a healthy scratch (via Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic).
With McDermott scratching both Coleman and Gabe Davis, the Bills rolled with Khalil Shakir, Josh Palmer, Brandin Cooks, Tyrell Shavers, and Mecole Hardman as their receivers in Cleveland. Shakir led the unit with a paltry 34 yards on four catches. Palmer, Cooks, Shavers, and Hardman combined for 23 yards on two receptions. Cooks and Hardman each went without a catch.
“Just a combination of receivers, offensively, that we wanted up,” McDermott said of his receiver choices in Week 16 (via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN). “And then obviously, Mecole was moved into the 5 spot there for primarily special teams purposes, but also a little bit of receiver as well.”
The Bills are 11-4 and on the way to the playoffs for the seventh straight year, but their receiving corps’ lack of production has been a problem throughout 2025. Shakir, a solid slot target, has been the only consistent option. The dearth of quality receivers hasn’t helped reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen‘s cause, though he and league-leading rusher James Cook have still lifted Buffalo’s offense to a No. 4 ranking this year.
Along with Coleman not developing as hoped, the free agent addition of Palmer has been a swing and a miss. The former Charger, now in the first season of a three-year, $36MM contract, has hauled in 20 passes for 290 yards and no TDs in 10 games. Cooks, Curtis Samuel (currently injured), and Elijah Moore (now on Denver’s practice squad) join Palmer as veteran receivers who have recently come up short after choosing Buffalo in free agency.
With Palmer injured at the time, general manager Brandon Beane was in the market for a receiver addition in advance of the Nov. 4 trade deadline. Beane reportedly made a significant offer to the division rival Dolphins for Jaylen Waddle, but he came up empty. While Beane reeled in Cooks in late November after the Saints released him, the 32-year-old hasn’t provided a boost to the offense. Despite an impressive resume that includes 730 receptions, Cooks has caught just one of five targets in four games with the Bills.
Regardless of how the rest of the campaign plays out, Beane will likely focus a good deal of offseason attention on the receiver position. It’s a “distinct possibility” that Shakir will be the only current Bills receiver who has a major role next year, Buscaglia contends. If Buffalo doesn’t trade or release Coleman in the offseason, he may wind up as a low-end option on the depth chart for the second straight year. That wasn’t what Buffalo had in mind when it used a high selection on Coleman just a few weeks after trading away former No. 1 wideout Stefon Diggs.
AFC East Rumors: Robinson, Sanders, Bills
Last year, the Dolphins added first-round pass rusher Chop Robinson to their defense behind starters Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb. Chubb ended up missing the entire season with a torn ACL, pushing Emmanuel Ogbah into a full-time starting role. Phillips also suffered a season-ending injury a few games into the season, and while more experienced names like Quinton Bell and Tyus Bowser earned starts in place of Phillips, Robinson dominated the defensive snap share for the rest of the season.
Once Robinson started getting a lion’s share of the snaps on defense, he started to find his footing at the NFL level. After going sackless in his first seven games, Robinson tallied six over his next eight games. With Chubb, Phillips, and new veteran Matt Judon in place this year, Robinson’s time on defense has been limited again, and as a result, so has his production.
Robinson’s strong rookie stretch likely made Miami a bit more comfortable with trading Phillips away earlier this year, and according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, there’s a belief among the staff that making space for Robinson to get more consistent snaps will help him return to the form he showed midway through his rookie campaign. Now that he’s come back from a recent concussion, he’s starting to show exactly that. In today’s win over the Saints, Robinson logged 1.5 sacks, his first since Week 2.
Here are a few other rumors coming out of the AFC East:
- Also in Miami, Jackson reported last month on the status of veteran kicker Jason Sanders, who has spent the entire season to this point on injured reserve with a designation to return. Per Jackson, Dolphins special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman said he doesn’t know if Sanders is close to returning or even if Sanders will kick for the team at all this season.
- Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman appeared in his first game in three weeks today after being a healthy scratch in the team’s last two contests. Coleman’s healthy scratch against the Buccaneers two weeks ago was a disciplinary measure to punish Coleman’s recent tardiness, but per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic, Coleman’s healthy scratch last week against the Texans was not discipline related. Head coach Sean McDermott clarified that Coleman was scratch for that game because of the short runup to their Thursday night matchup.
- The Bills ended up staying put during the NFL’s trade deadline this year, but it was reportedly not for lack of trying. According to Tim Graham of The Athletic, general manager Brandon Beane was willing to restructure multiple contracts in order to facilitate trades. Beane and Co. had already reworked cornerback Taron Johnson‘s contract, and he arranged to have others ready to rework in case it may help move trades along. Unfortunately for Beane and Buffalo, though, calls on many of those players didn’t come until the day of the deadline, and deals that require a new contract are required to be done the Monday before the deadline, leading to the lack of action on that quiet Tuesday nearly four weeks ago.
Bills WR Keon Coleman Benched For Today’s Game
It’s no secret that Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman has failed to live up to his draft stock thus far in his young career. A slow rookie campaign with a couple missed games is excusable, but Coleman has noticeably taken a step back in Year 2. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, Coleman will not play in today’s game against the Buccaneers. It’s supposedly “not performance-based, though, as Schultz relays it to be “a coach’s decision.”
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network provided added context for the healthy scratch, citing Coleman’s tardiness to meetings on Friday morning as the reason for his benching. The team had no plans throughout the week of making him inactive but chose an expensive punishment as a result of repeated issues. Per Rapoport, he was benched for a drive against New England earlier this year and benched for a full quarter against Jacksonville last year.
Coleman came to Buffalo with potential and anticipation but not outrageous production. After a quiet true freshman season at Michigan State, Coleman broke out for the Spartans in his second season of play with 58 catches for 798 yards and seven touchdowns. He capitalized on his big year by transferring to Florida State, where, in a quieter passing attack, he led the Seminoles with 50 receptions for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Despite the lack of eye-popping yardage, those 11 scores in garnet and gold underlined his potential as a big-bodied playmaker. At 6-foot-4, 210 pounds coming out of college, the physical frame was there, but the speed was lacking. Coleman ran an unencouraging 4.61-second 40-yard dash, but the Bills thought he played much faster than his dash time, as evidenced by his demonstration in the gauntlet drill, in which he achieved the fastest top speed of any receiver that year.
Coleman’s numbers as a second-round rookie (57 catches-556 yards-four touchdowns) were not overly impressive, but that is understandable for a rookie who missed four games. MVP quarterback Josh Allen targeted Khalil Shakir and tight end Dalton Kincaid over a third of the time, while Coleman found residual targets in line with fellow receivers Mack Hollins and Curtis Samuel. In Year 2, Allen has made more of an effort to involve Coleman, making him the second most-targeted pass catcher on the team, again behind Shakir, but Coleman has seen his yards per game decrease despite the added attention.
With Coleman out, it will certainly be interesting to see how the Bills make up for Coleman’s absence. After Shakir, Coleman, Kincaid, and running back James Cook, Josh Palmer is the fifth leading receiver with a line of 14-234-0. Elijah Moore (8-115-0) and Tyrell Shavers (7-82-0) are also scoreless, making Samuel (5-62-1) the only member of the receiving corps active for today’s game other than Shakir to score a touchdown this year, and Kincaid has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
We did see yesterday that Buffalo is calling up some interesting reinforcements. The team used its Saturday transactions to sign Mecole Hardman from the practice squad to the active roster while choosing to elevate Gabe Davis and tight end Keleki Latu as standard gameday practice squad elevations.
Davis was a reliable WR2 for Allen behind Stefon Diggs for four years before flaming out in Jacksonville with disappointing production on a three-year, $39MM contract. After only racking up 239 yards in 10 games, Davis’ season ended with a torn meniscus. The combination of concern for his recovery, Brian Thomas Jr.‘s stellar rookie campaign, and the arrival of No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter led the Jaguars to release Davis after his lone year with the team.
It’s to be determined how Hardman — a role player for years in Kansas City — will fit into the new offense or how much Latu — making his NFL debut after going undrafted out of Washington — will be utilized. The bigger mystery, though, concerns the future of Coleman. A healthy scratch will easily be a low point in his young career, and it will be interesting to follow how he responds to this style of coaching given his response alike punishment in the past.
NFL Injury Updates: Hurts, Coleman, Barmore
An interesting situation played out today when Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni seemed to let something inadvertently slip during his press conference. Sirianni claimed that quarterback Jalen Hurts has been limited in practice as he has been “dealing with the ankle.” This would be of no consequence, if Hurts hadn’t been listed on the injury report with a “rest” designation, per ESPN’s Tim McManus.
Per McManus, two different sources claimed that “Hurts has been dealing with a mild ankle issue for a couple weeks” and that he is dealing with “lower leg soreness.” Hurts was reportedly limited in practice on Wednesday for “load management” purposes, requiring that he be on the injury report. When asked, Hurts told the media that he just does what he’s told and was told a rest day was in the cards this week.
After two days of full participation, Hurts’ availability shouldn’t really be in question this weekend. It will be interesting, though, to see if the league follows up with an investigation on a potential injury reporting violation by the Eagles.
Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:
- Bills rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman has already been ruled out for this week after sitting out the entire week of practice. When his status for the week was still up in the air, though, head coach Sean McDermott claimed that, while they were taking it “one day at a time,” there was potential that he could be out for “more than just this week,” according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg followed up with a report from McDermott this morning in which he speculated that Coleman would “probably miss multiple weeks with his wrist injury.” The good news is that McDermott clarified that Coleman would avoid injured reserve, accounting for the fact that the rookie should be back within four weeks.
- The Patriots have yet to see defensive tackle Christian Barmore in the 2024 season after the 25-year-old was diagnosed with blood clots in late-July. When the regular season was approaching, the team began preparing for a full-season absence from their blossoming interior defender, but according to Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal, Barmore more may yet play in 2024. Head coach Jerod Mayo told the media that “we’re getting close” to a possible return to practice for Barmore earlier this week. While nothing is set in stone with that statement, it’s an encouraging sign for a young player dealing with one of the sport’s scarier diagnoses.
Latest On Bills’ WR Situation
The Bills will have several new faces at the receiver position in 2024 with Gabe Davis having departed in free agency and Stefon Diggs expectedly being traded away. Training camp will prove to be a crucial point in the offseason as Buffalo looks to rebuild its WR depth chart. 
Plenty of uncertainty remains regarding the final roster spots, and performances this summer will dictate who survives final cuts. Before camp opens, however, a shortlist of wideouts can be considered locks to make the Bills. As ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg writes, returnee Khalil Shakir, free agent addition Curtis Samuel and second-round rookie Keon Coleman fall into that category.
Shakir is the only receiver currently on the roster who has caught a pass from Josh Allen in his career. The 24-year-old has operated in a rotational capacity to date, although his 15.8 yards per catch average suggests he could establish himself as a notable vertical threat in Buffalo’s passing game. Samuel has much more experience – 91 games, 58 starts – during his time with the Panthers and Commanders, although he has generally served in a complementary role.
Samuel, 27, has recorded more than 656 yards only once in his career (2020). He could manage to match or exceed his career-best 851 yards during his tenure in Buffalo if it includes starting duties, though. The former second-rounder signed a three-year deal with a base value of $24MM in March, so he will be expected to serve as a consistent producer for the Bills.
Coleman’s addition came about after Buffalo traded out of the first round. Allen supported the decision to draft the Florida State alum, whose size (6-4, 210 pounds) and jump-ball skills make him an intriguing prospect. Regardless of how he, Samuel and Shakir fare, second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid and lead running back James Cook are of course in line for an uptick in targets in 2024.
To little surprise, Getzenberg adds that Marquez Valdes-Scantling can also be considered a roster lock. The former Packers and Chiefs speedster joined the Bills on a one-year deal after dining with Allen. Valdes-Scantling has struggled with drops during his career, but he will provide Buffalo with a known commodity in the pass-catching corps during a season in which uncertainty is present.
Other wideouts like Mack Hollins, Chase Claypool, KJ Hamler and Andy Isabella are also in place to compete for a roster spot. Their performances over the course of the summer will be worth watching, but the bulk of Buffalo’s receiver room is in place based on where things currently stand.
Bills Sign Round 2 WR Keon Coleman, Wrap Draft Class Deals
JUNE 13: Providing details on the Coleman accord, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes his salaries are fully guaranteed for the first three years. $1.74MM is guaranteed for injury in 2027; that year also has a $75K workout bonus. Coleman will receive a $4.15MM signing bonus.
JUNE 12: The makeup of the Bills’ rebuilt wide receiver room suggests Keon Coleman will need to hit the ground running. Buffalo passed on multiple wideouts late in the first round before identifying Coleman as their centerpiece fix post-Stefon Diggs.
This year’s first player chosen in the second round, Coleman is now under contract. The Bills inked the Florida State wideout to his four-year rookie contract Wednesday; this agreement concludes the draft signing portion of Buffalo’s offseason.
Last year’s first player off the Round 2 board, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., did not receive a fully guaranteed contract. Neither did Titans QB Will Levis (No. 33). Coleman’s Bills pact could set a precedent, and with second-rounders making notable guarantee gains during this signing period, Coleman’s Year 4 salary guarantee will be a number to watch. The Steelers guaranteed $1.4MM of Porter’s $2MM final-year salary; the Bills will be expected to move beyond that point for Coleman.
Buffalo traded Diggs to Houston, with the Texans’ offer of a 2025 second-rounder changing the perennial AFC East champions’ plans with their previous WR1. The team also let Gabe Davis walk in free agency. While the Bills signed slot/gadget performer Curtis Samuel and signed some midlevel veterans — including ex-Chief Marquez Valdes-Scantling — Coleman seems likely to contribute regularly this season.
The Bills seem likely to be counting on a player who did not eclipse 800 receiving yards in a season with Michigan State or Florida State. After a 798-yard showing with the Spartans in 2022, he totaled 658 in 12 Seminoles contests last year. Coleman, 21, also lumbered to a 4.61-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. The 6-foot-3 weapon’s top speed of 20.36 mph in the Combine gauntlet drill was the fastest measured over the past two years, however.
With the Bills giving Josh Allen some input on this year’s receiver class, the superstar QB endorsed Coleman. The Bills passed on the likes of Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pearsall and Xavier Legette at the end of the first round, picking up additional draft capital by trading down twice. The team faced criticism for allowing the Chiefs to climb up to No. 28 for Worthy, with the Patriots believed to have made an offer for the pick as well. After Buffalo traded out of Round 1 (via Carolina), it will not have a fifth-year option on Coleman.
Moving toward training camp, here are the Bills draftees set to vie for jobs:
- Round 2, No. 33 (from Panthers): Keon Coleman (WR, Florida State) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 60: Cole Bishop (S, Utah) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 95 (from Chiefs): DeWayne Carter, DT (Duke) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 128: Ray Davis (RB, Kentucky) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 141 (from Giants through Panthers): Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (C, Georgia) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 160 (from Packers): Edefuan Ulofoshio (LB, Washington) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 168 (from Saints): Javon Solomon (EDGE, Troy) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 204: Tylan Grable (T, Central Florida) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 219 (from Packers): Daequan Hardy (CB, Penn State) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 221 (from Panthers through Titans and Chiefs): Travis Clayton (T, England) (signed)
AFC East Notes: Allen, Bills, Coleman, Staff, Washington, Jets, Patriots, Slater, Dolphins
Having traded Stefon Diggs weeks after letting Gabe Davis walk in free agency, the Bills are facing questions about their receiving corps. The team’s top offseason investment at the position — No. 33 overall pick Keon Coleman — encouraged Josh Allen. Bills GM Brandon Beane said during a Sirius XM Radio appearance he had Allen join coaches in watching some film of receiver prospects. Coleman was among the candidates the superstar passer preferred, expressing his approval after being informed on Day 2 of the draft the Bills would go with the Florida State wideout. Although Coleman did not produce an 800-yard receiving season with the Seminoles, the Bills look set to count on the 6-foot-4 pass catcher as they remake their receiving corps.
Here is the latest from the AFC East:
- The Jets have moved on from one of the better-known members of their coaching staff. Leon Washington, who had been in place as assistant special teams coach in each of Robert Saleh‘s three seasons, did not see his contract renewed for the 2024 season, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. This marked the former Jets kick returner/running back’s first full-time coaching gig, after a run of fellowships since his playing career ended after the 2014 season. A Jets contributor from 2006-09, Washington earned All-Pro honors in 2008. Earlier this offseason, the Jets lost special teams assistant Michael Ghobrial to the Giants. Dan Shamash, who helps advise Saleh in terms of game management, is now listed as an ST assistant for the team. Brant Boyer remains in place as the team’s ST coordinator.
- Rome Odunze may well have been the Jets’ preference at No. 10, but after the Bears went with the Washington wideout at 9, the team was set on Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu. The Jets were also high on Washington tackle Troy Fautanu, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, but the team carried some long-term durability concerns about the Pac-12 blocker. Two other tackles — Taliese Fuaga (Saints) and Amarius Mims (Bengals) — went off the board before Fautanu, who slid to the Steelers at No. 20. Some teams flagged Fautanu’s knee as a medical concern, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. It appears the Jets were one of them.
- Odell Beckham Jr.‘s Dolphins contract includes a void year, which will drop his cap number by a bit. The new Miami WR3 will count $2.1MM on the team’s 2024 cap, per OverTheCap. Beckham signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Dolphins; the team will take on a $900K dead money charge in 2025 if OBJ is not re-signed by the 2025 league year.
- The Bills have either decided on their defensive play-caller, only to not reveal the choice publicly, or they are still in the process of determining who will call the signals come September. Sean McDermott said (via the Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski) he is delaying this decision until at least training camp. McDermott called plays last season, with the Bills having moved on from longtime defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, but the Bills now have a DC again in Bobby Babich. The Bills have been a top-five defense in each of the past three seasons, though their units — as key injuries hit in each season — have struggled in the playoffs.
- Matthew Slater‘s immediate transition to coaching will come in a full-time role, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss. The perennial Pro Bowl special-teamer is working as a “right-hand man” to Jerod Mayo, with Reiss noting the new Patriots HC is receiving input from his former teammate regarding team-building and character development. Slater, 38, spent 16 seasons with the Patriots, coming into the league in the same 2008 draft class Mayo did.
- Staying with that 2008 draft class, one of its members recently landed a scouting gig. The Dolphins hired Beau Bell as a pro scout, according to InsidetheLeague.com’s Neil Stratton. A 2008 fourth-round Browns draftee, Bell only played five NFL games. He will make the move to a full-time role after receiving an apprentice opportunity with the Rams and serving as GM of the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul.
Bills Draft WR Keon Coleman To Open 2nd Round
The Bills traded back twice last night, eventually falling out of the first round. Still, with the first pick of the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Buffalo hits on a position of need, drafting Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman.
Coleman was one of college football’s top transfer targets after a strong sophomore season at Michigan State in which he caught 58 balls for 798 yards and seven touchdowns. In Tallahassee, he failed to eclipse the yardage he’d had as a Spartan, but he still led the Seminoles in receptions (50), receiving yards (658), and receiving touchdowns (11).
[RELATED: Bills Interested In 49ers’ Deebo Samuel]
It was expected that Coleman would put up bigger numbers on an offense that went undefeated in the regular season and ranked 19th in the country in points per game, but his 11 scores demonstrate exactly the type of receiver he’s expected to be in the NFL.
In Buffalo, Coleman faces a tall task, filling the shoes of the departed Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. The team returns Khalil Shakir and brought in Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins, but as an early second-round pick, Coleman will be expected to step up as a key weapon for a Bills team that may not be done augmenting its WR corps this offseason.
Despite his inability to produce big yardage numbers at Michigan State and Florida State, Coleman was an outstanding redzone target. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Coleman establishes a daunting presence that the AFC’s best will have to counter.