Keon Coleman landing spots: After wild Bills press conference, team has no choice but to deal receiver
It would appear the former second-round pick's days are numbered in Buffalo

Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula and president/general manager Brandon Beane held a press conference on Wednesday morning to, among other things, explain the decision to fire deposed head coach Sean McDermott. During that press conference, Pegula appeared to take a shot at wide receiver Keon Coleman, deflecting blame for the draft choice from Beane and assigning it to McDermott.
"The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon," Pegula said. "I'm not saying Brandon wouldn't have drafted him, but he 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. He's taken, for some reason, heat over it, and not saying a word about it. I'm here to tell you the true story."
Evidence to the contrary of this claim has already emerged in two different forms. The first is a clip of Beane saying that he was glad Coleman ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds because that would make it easier for the Bills to land him in the draft. And the second is another clip of Beane saying that he knew he wanted to draft Coleman unless some other team blew the Bills away with a trade offer for the No. 33 overall pick in the 2024 draft.
Regardless of who was the driving force behind a pick that has clearly not worked out -- Coleman has been ineffective in his role and also had off-the-field issues that led to his being a healthy scratch for multiple games this season -- it was wildly inappropriate for an owner to hang Coleman himself out to dry like this, seemingly declaring him a failed experiment while Coleman is still on the team.
It would seem to be untenable for Coleman to return to the Bills in 2026 in the wake of these comments. This isn't something you just put your head down and forget about. So with that in mind, we want to take a look at a few potential landing spots that might make sense for Coleman as a "second draft" type of prospect who could be rehabilitated in a new situation.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs need a big-bodied outside receiver to complement Rashee Rice in the slot and Xavier Worthy as their speed option on the perimeter. Coleman has largely struggled at the things he'd need to do to be an effective weapon for another team, but perhaps a change of scenery would help unlock more of what he showed during his time in college. He's not going to find many teams with an equivalent or better quarterback than Josh Allen, but Kansas City provides one of those options in Patrick Mahomes.
San Francisco 49ers
With Brandon Aiyuk having played his last down with the Niners and Jauan Jennings hitting free agency, San Francisco could have a need for an outside receiver as well. Kyle Shanahan has always shown an ability to put players in position to succeed, so if there is anyone out there who might be able to unlock the best of what Coleman has to offer, it might be him.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers desperately need some help across from DK Metcalf at the wide receiver position. They can't come into next season with guys like Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III as the primary complements to Metcalf. Coleman could make sense as a buy-low option while they make larger investments in free agency or the draft.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints, like the Steelers, need a complement to their No. 1 wide receiver. New Orleans has guys like DeVaughn Vele and Kevin Austin Jr. behind Chris Olave but probably needs to find Tyler Shough more to work with to make sure that he shows progress next season after putting together a pretty strong rookie season.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans don't even really have a No. 1 wide receiver given the way Calvin Ridley's season went, so they need to take as many shots as possible at pass catchers this offseason in order to give Cam Ward a better chance for success after they put him in so many tough situations during his rookie year. Coleman isn't going to be a reliable solution, but taking a dice-roll at a low cost could make some degree of sense.















