Bills coach says he benched struggling WR to start Patriots game over disciplinary issue

ORCHARD PARK - A little more than a quarter of the way through Keon Coleman’s second NFL season, the Buffalo Bills are still waiting for him to grow up, find consistency in his game, and become an impact player.

Coleman’s frustrating tenure with Buffalo took another odd twist at the start of Sunday night’s 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots when he was not on the field for the Bills’ first offensive possession, one that lasted six plays before Josh Allen and Dawson Knox botched a handoff and lost a fumble.

No one thought anything of Coleman’s absence because the Bills rotate personnel so frequently that it can become dizzying trying to figure out who’s on the field for every play, but coach Sean McDermott revealed Monday afternoon that Coleman was on the sidelines as punishment for something he did during the week, terming it “head coach discipline.”

Sean McDermott: 'We expect more' from Keon Coleman

McDermott did not specify the offense, but it’s not the first time Coleman has been benched for disciplinary reasons. If you’ll recall, early in his rookie season he was late for a team function and sat out the start of the Week 3 game against Jacksonville.

“Yes” was McDermott’s response Monday when asked if it’s disappointing that this happened again, and he added, “We expect more.”

The Bills do need more from Coleman, but not only in his ability to follow team rules. Outside of the fourth quarter against the Ravens when he went off with seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, Coleman has been mostly a non-factor. In the other 4 ¾ games he has just 14 receptions for 131 yards and one touchdowns, plus he lost a fumble against the Patriots which handed New England three points in a game the Bills ultimately lost by three.

“Growth, maturation, that leads to consistency more than anything,” McDermott said when asked how Coleman can improve. “And like anything else, if you have winning habits it leads to winning on the field. And so that’s really what we’re trying to create. And that’s what we’re here to do is help young men in this case grow and mature and develop and become professionals.”

Chosen with the first pick of the second round in the 2024 NFL Draft, it was always unfair to believe that he was going to be the immediate replacement for Stefon Diggs who had been traded about a month before.

Diggs was a superstar during his four years with Buffalo, while Coleman’s draft profile indicated that he was probably going to be more like a No. 2 receiver in the NFL because he lacked elite speed and was not a great separator at Florida State. His best attribute was that he was very good at winning contested catches, but even that was going to be questionable once he started going against NFL defensive backs.

Keon Coleman performance since drafted by the Buffalo Bills has been disappointing

That draft profile has been dead on accurate and it’s a tough case to make that Coleman is even a No. 2 at this point, 18 games into his career, but on a team with an “everybody eats” mantra, he can find a role if he gets his act together.

It was unfortunate that he got hurt at midseason in 2024 because it looked like he was just starting to find his footing as he had nine catches for 225 yards and a TD combined in the games against the Titans and Seahawks. But then he got hurt the following week against Miami and when he returned six weeks later he never got back into that groove, a point that McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane were not shy about mentioning.

They flat out said it was a disappointing finish for Coleman (10 catches for 161 yards and a TD in the last seven games counting playoffs) because he really didn’t show growth, and while he reportedly took that to heart and put in the necessary work in the offseason, it has not shown up thus far - again, outside the fourth quarter against Baltimore.

“I think just being where he’s supposed to be,” offensive coordinator Joe Brady said when asked how Coleman can improve. “When he’s there, doing his job, doing his 1/11th and just being accountable to the 10 other guys in the huddle with him at any given moment, you see the growth, you see the plays that he has out there, that just needs to be the consistent level.

“We have some opportunities in 1-on-1 coverages, there’s opportunities that Keon will be the first to say he’s got to make. I think it starts throughout the week in practice and carries over to the game. If you’re consistent throughout the week, you’ll be consistent in the game.”

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Keon Coleman benched by Sean McDermott for start of Bills vs Patriots