The holiday season is a time to see familiar and friendly faces.
On Tuesday, the Bills brought back Cole Beasley, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, luring the slot receiver out of a short-lived retirement. Beasley played in 2022, a two-game stint with the Buccaneers before deciding to call it a career.
Garafolo reports that Beasley is heading to the team's practice squad, but should be elevated in short order to the active roster.
A reunion in Buffalo: WR Cole Beasley is coming out of retirement and expected to sign with the #Bills’ practice squad, sources say. After a brief stint with the #Buccaneers earlier this season, Beasley returns to Orchard Park to provide Josh Allen with another trusted target. pic.twitter.com/6ii8dDVwD1
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 13, 2022
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While the Bills were in pursuit of a wide receiver, few thought it would come by way of Beasley when Odell Beckham Jr. was a possibility.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero offered some dots to connect: Beckham visited three squads — the Cowboys, Bills and Giants — in preparation of a return to the field. Of the three, two teams (the Cowboys signed T.Y. Hilton, the Bills signed Beasley) have already signed wide receivers. According to Pelissero, that's because they are "ready, willing and able to play in the regular season."
Free-agent WR Odell Beckham Jr. visited three teams over the past couple weeks. Two of them — the #Cowboys (T.Y. Hilton) and #Bills (Cole Beasley) — have now signed other veteran receivers who are ready, willing and able to play in the regular season.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 13, 2022
To that end, it's unclear if any of those three are true of Beckham, as he works his way back from an ACL injury. Beckham recently said he doesn't put a need on playing in the regular season, potentially playing into the "willingness" part:
"I'm not saying that I couldn't step in and play in the regular season, but I don't see the point," Beckham said during the Week 14 Rams-Raiders matchup. "I really don't. I would rather play when that pressure's on."
MORE: Where will Odell Beckham Jr. sign?
Also adding to that is his murky timeline on his return: While he's been cleared to play and has been visiting with squads, dissatisfaction over his medicals led to the Cowboys looking in another direction.
With both the Cowboys and Bills opting to sign vets over Beckham, it might be Big Apple or bust for the veteran wide receiver.
