Buffalo Bills release wide receiver Cole Beasley

The Buffalo Bills released wide receiver Cole Beasley on Thursday. The team officially announced the move right around noon on St. Patrick’s Day.

Beasley, 32, was set to count $7.6 million against the salary cap in 2022. Earlier this offseason, he had been granted permission to seek a trade, but the Bills presumably were either unable to find a partner or unable to find a team willing to give them satisfactory assets for the veteran slot receiver.

By releasing Beasley, Buffalo frees up $6.1 million in cap space. Beasley will count for $1.5 million against Buffalo’s cap this season in what was to be the final year of the contract he signed prior to the 2019 season.

In three years with the Bills, Beasley became a prominent target for quarterback Josh Allen, providing the young quarterback with a safety net and a great zone-busting target. Beasley played a huge part in Allen’s development from a raw, athletic rookie to one of the league’s premier quarterbacks.

In 46 games with Buffalo, Beasley caught 231 passes for 2,438 yards and 11 touchdowns. He set a career-high in targets in each of his three seasons with the Bills, as he was targeted 106 times in 2019, 107 times in 2020, and 112 times in 2021. In six playoff games in Buffalo, Beasley added 25 catches for 268 yards.

Next read

• All-22 Review: Cole Beasley’s 2021 season
• All-22 Review: Isaiah McKenzie’s 2021 season
• Salary cap consequences of releasing Cole Beasley
• Contract projection for Isaiah McKenzie
• In-house replacement options for McKenzie/Beasley
• Free agents available at slot receiver
• NFL Draft options at slot receiver
• Opinion: Bills should use multiple tools to improve slot WR position this offseason
• Bills re-sign Isaiah McKenzie