The Buffalo Bills received some good news on the injury front today, as veteran slot receiver Cole Beasley has been cleared to practice. Beasley, 31, had started training camp on the non-football injury (NFI) list due to a back injury. The team announced that he passed his physical earlier on Wednesday.
Beasley was placed on the NFI list on July 30, but NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweeted at the time that it wasn’t a serious injury. He speculated that Beasley would be available sooner rather than later, and fortunately, he was correct.
In his first season in Buffalo, Beasley was targeted a career-high 106 times, and he responded by setting a career-high in receiving touchdowns with six. Beasley was second on the Bills in receptions (67) and receiving yards (778), trailing only John Brown in both categories.
With the addition of Stefon Diggs to the offense, Beasley goes from the second target on offense to the third—a role that might lead to a reduction in targets, but should not result in a reduction in effectiveness. Beasley established a rapport early with young quarterback Josh Allen, and with another option for defenses to worry about, Beasley should be able to find space in the underneath areas for Allen to exploit.