Buffalo Rumblings
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott benched second-year wide receiver Keon Coleman on Sunday, making him a healthy scratch. The reason Coleman was inactive was he was late to a team meeting. It is the third benching of Coleman’s young career following being benched for one drive in Week 5 of the 2025 season and a full quarter in 2024.
According to reports, the Bills were going to play Coleman despite a lackluster effort against the Miami Dolphins in Week 10, where he half-heartedly jogged through routes. Once he was late to the meeting, it forced the Bills’ hand.
It is unclear if Coleman will be in the lineup in a few days against the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football.
To his credit, Coleman answered questions from reporters after the game, but bigger questions than that remain for the former second-round pick in the grand scheme of things.
“Just got to be better,” said Coleman when talking to reporters in the tunnel after the game. “Better on my end… Mistakes happen. Things happen.”
Thad Brown from WROC in Rochester asked Coleman if there is a lesson he hasn’t learned at this point or a message that isn’t being received.
“Nah, I wouldn’t say that,” responded Coleman.
“I wouldn’t say it was difficult,” Coleman responded to a question. “It’s disappointing. When you understand the result, what happened to make that happen, you get it. So you just got to be proud of your teammates and root for them.”
During pregame warmups, Coleman was on the field and keeping it loose, dancing to the stadium music. Some would say too loose, as he was being lighthearted despite his punishment. He did stay on the sideline during the game.
McDermott spoke with reporters after the game, as well, explaining the reasoning behind benching Coleman. McDermott referred to Coleman as a “young man” during the Q&A with reporters, and says he still has hope for him going forward.
“We get to a certain point and I have to do something,” said McDermott. “I try to give the guys a kind of a strike approach, you get a chance to show your teammates that’s not who you really are. When it happens again, I step in. I believe he will learn from it. He takes it seriously. He will move forward in a way of growing from this. That’s the whole goal.”
Coleman’s teammates spoke candidly about his benching, as well. Quarterback Josh Allen was diplomatic, saying he “doesn’t make those decisions” and he “would love to have him out there.”
Dion Dawkins offered a longer response and was very direct with Coleman through the media.
“I spoke to Keon… and I told him ‘Look, don’t even worry about it. Everybody goes through a different journey. Let’s just say that this is the last time and let’s move forward.‘ He said ‘I’m with you.‘ That’s all that we need, right? Nobody’s perfect. In this league, we need guys that come on.”
“Keon knows now...
