During Cole Beasley’s introductory press conference with the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, the receiver said he had three finalists when he made his final decision about free agency. He told reporters he was deciding between the Bills, the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots. It was a return to the Cowboys, where he’s been his entire career, or a trip to the AFC East. Beasley signed with Buffalo on a four-year, $29 million deal. He will join a revamped offense which includes newly-signed receivers John Brown and Andre Roberts, all acquired to help quarterback Josh Allen in his second season. Allen completed just 52 percent of his passes in 2018. Cole Beasley said many teams were interested at first in him but his final decision came down to the Bills, Cowboys and Patriots. — Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) March 14, 2019 The Patriots have been doing their due diligence on the receiver market, and attempted to sign receiver Adam Humphries, a slot threat like Beasley. New England also showed interest signing free agent receiver Golden Tate, according to a report. The Patriots also took care of some of their own by re-signing receiver Phillip Dorsett and placing an original round tender on Josh Gordon, a restricted free agent.<doc-sep>By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston BOSTON (CBS) — It’s tampering time in the NFL, though the New England Patriots are sitting out the fun. While teams are dishing out boatloads of cash to free agents, the defending Super Bowl champs have taken a spectator approach to the offseason festivities. At least for now, since they will have to sign someone at some point. That someone will likely play wide receiver, as the Patriots offense has a few holes to fill in Tom Brady’s arsenal. Josh Gordon has been given an original-round tender, so if he’s allowed to play football in 2019, it will be for the Patriots. But at the moment, it’s unclear if Roger Goodell will let Josh Gordon play football in 2019. That means the only receiver under contract with an NFL catch to his name is Julian Edelman. As good as a play-maker he is, the Pats will need a lot more than just Edelman running routes if they want to put up points next season. The problem is most of the free agent receivers have found new homes already. The Patriots were reportedly in on slot receiver Adam Humphries, but he signed a big deal with the Tennessee Titans on Monday. Devin Funchess (Indianapolis Colts) and Jamison Crowder (New York Jets) did the same. And on Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills signed two wideouts that could have caught passes from Brady next season: John Brown and Cole Beasley. Instead, that duo will be catching passes from second-year quarterback Josh Allen. So who the heck is still out there for the Patriots? Their own free agents, Cordarrelle Patterson, Chris Hogan and Phillip Dorsett are still available, but it’s unclear if any of trio will return. Patterson will likely cash in after his only season in the New England offense, showing off some versatility as a pass-catcher, rusher and kick returner. Hogan struggled to get on the same wavelength as Brady throughout the 2018 campaign, and would likely benefit from a fresh start elsewhere. And while the Patriots and Dorsett are talking (according to the Boston Herald) about a possible pact, the 26-year-old would probably like to join a team that can offer him a bigger role in the offense with more consistent targets. That is no guarantee in New England. On the open market, Golden Tate is the biggest name still available, and he’s already expressed interest in joining the Patriots. The 30-year-old would love to snag passes from “old Tommy boy” and try to win another ring as his career winds down. It seems like a perfect match for both sides. If the money is right, Tate should be wearing a Patriots uniform next season. But with the Patriots, it’s never that easy. If another team blows Tate away with a big-money offer, Bill Belichick will move on without batting an eye (especially if he’s still vacationing in Barbados). Jermaine Kearse and Tyrell Williams are good options for the slot, while Randall Cobb, Dontrelle Inman, Demaryius Thomas, Donte Moncrief and Pierre Garcon would all help fill out the depth chart. And though he sat out his entire rookie season, six-round pick Braxton Berrios could be in line for a big first season in the NFL if he’s healthy. The Patriots will, at some point, address their need at wide receiver. As good as the three-headed monster of Brady, Edelman and Rob Gronkowski can be, the Patriots are required by the rules to send a few other receivers out there on every play. They will add someone, and likely a few someones, via free agency and the NFL draft next month. With 12 picks in Nashville, chances are they’ll snag a couple of receivers when picks start flying off the board. While everyone else is throwing around some funny money, the Patriots are waiting patiently to strike. It’ll happen, eventually.<doc-sep>The Buffalo Bills continued to revamp their offense on the second day of the legal tampering period, adding shifty slot receiver Cole Beasley. The transition to smaller, faster receivers is in full swing in Orchard Park. It might be unpleasant to look at thanks to unsightly blue stars, but we’ll peek at the tape to see what Beasley brings with him. Play 1 Let’s start off with blocking for Cole Beasley. Overall, Beasley takes no issue with blocking and will mix it up with defenders whenever necessary. Beasley is diminutive by NFL standards and sometimes match-ups simply don’t favor the receiver. Here he commits to pushing toward the sideline and gives Dak Prescott some space. Beasley is careful to shove off the shoulder to avoid a block in the back penalty as well. Before he even gets to the block, take a look at him selling the route and that change of direction. Play 2 Beasley can do this all game if needed. A bit of subtle footwork at the beginning of the play and a quick change of direction leave him open for a chunk of yards. Better ball placement would have allowed good yards after catch. This is where physics favor Beasley. At about 180 lbs and 5’8” tall, he can make cuts of which few defenders are capable. Play 3 An incredible bend directly behind the defense creates separation across the field early in this play. As it develops, Beasley spots a soft zone and makes another near-collision cut to get open deeper. When it comes to weaving through traffic, Beasley excels. Play 4 Cole Beasley slips out and his initial route creates plenty of space despite crossing the face of several opponents. His shoulder orientation at the point of catch is highlighted to demonstrate how far he twists his body to turn upfield. Once he’s moving he uses his small frame and a hidden extra gear at the last second to cut between two foes in what’s nearly a Looney Tunes-esque collision. Play 5 The initial cut to his right creates good separation and a well-timed toss is probably a touchdown. The stop and pivot in the opposite direction is a next-level cut. It creates enough space where Beasley feels like he’s just hanging out waiting for the ball. Summary Cole Beasley provides a dependable presence on the field with good wide-receiver skills pretty much all around. His small frame combines with athleticism to allow some fairly preposterous change-of-direction skills. Creative play callers can scheme up some fun stuff for the slot receiver to take advantage of Beasley’s favorable physics.<doc-sep>
The Buffalo Bills are such a non-desirable location. Who would want to go there when you have the largest team in North America, the Dallas Cowboys, and the most successful one, in the New England Patriots, also calling you? Answer: Cole Beasley. The Bills’ new 29-year-old wide receiver was introduced to Western New York in a press conference on Thursday. He agreed to a four-year deal with the team earlier this week. “I knew a little bit [about Buffalo]. As we went, found out which teams were interested, we do our own little personal background checks, if you will, to see if the place would be a good fit or not. This one was definitely one of those places that would’ve been a good fit and one that we kept our eyes on,” Beasley said. But he had some decisions to make. Per Beasley, both the Cowboys and Patriots had offers on the table for him. Instead, he’s a Bill. Now, there are factors we’ll never know. Did the Bills simply out-bid the Cowboys and Patriots? Were there other moving parts? All we can do at this time is take Beasley for his word. Among the reasons he gave for signing with the team, two stood out. First, he mentioned the Bills’ quarterback situation with Josh Allen. The Cowboys and Bills don’t meet often, but tape don’t lie, says Beasley. “Quarterback was definitely a big factor, he definitely has a lot of arm talent and ability,” Beasley said. “Film, you can see it,” Beasley added on Allen. “It doesn’t matter what people say.” In addition, the fact that there was a line outside of Brandon Beane’s office on Thursday to sign contracts played a part, too. Beasley noticed all the noise the Bills made earlier in free agency. There’s John Brown, Tyler Kroft and Mitch Morse, just to name only half of the new guys. He’s not going to be the new guy on campus because, well, there are a lot of new guys. “It shows that they really care about winning here and they’re trying to make the things happen that they need to move forward,” Beasley said. And OK, there was one more factor. “They said there was hunting around here, so I was down,” he said. Cc: Mario Williams.