The Buffalo Bills are facing a harsh reality with wide receiver Keon Coleman, the former second-round pick whose stock has plummeted so dramatically that some analysts believe the team may soon ship him out for pennies on the dollar—or cut ties altogether.

Owner Terry Pegula made headlines earlier this offseason when he publicly pointed the finger at former head coach Sean McDermott for the decision to draft Coleman with the No. 33 overall pick in 2024. Pegula’s pointed comments, made during a postseason news conference, effectively distanced general manager Brandon Beane from the selection and underscored just how tenuous Coleman’s standing is within the organization.

Coleman showed flashes as a rookie but struggled with inconsistency and disciplinary issues in his second season. He was benched twice for missing team meetings and practices, and his production failed to match the promise he displayed early in his career. The Bills have since added significant competition by trading for veteran wide receiver DJ Moore, further crowding the receiver room and leaving Coleman’s future in Buffalo increasingly uncertain.

Trade Speculation Heats Up

Reporter Mark Morales-Smith of SI.com recently floated a scenario in which the Bills send Coleman “out West” to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders, projected to select quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, could use additional weapons around their young signal-caller. In return, Buffalo would reportedly receive only a sixth-round pick—a remarkably low haul for a player once viewed as a foundational piece of the offense.

“At this point, the Bills are just hoping to get any sort of compensation for Coleman,” Morales-Smith wrote. “Things have clearly fallen apart for him in Buffalo, and no one expects things to work out. If they aren’t able to trade him, there is no lock he makes the 2026 53-man roster without getting cut at some point this summer.”

Other analysts see slightly more value in Coleman, though still far below his original draft pedigree. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell proposed a more complex draft-day deal in which the Bills send their No. 26 overall pick (first round), a fifth-rounder, and Coleman to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the No. 35 (second round) and No. 66 (third round) selections.

Barnwell noted that after previously trading away their own second-round pick to acquire DJ Moore from the Bears, general manager Brandon Beane might look to move down from No. 26 and add an extra Day 2 asset. Including Coleman, Barnwell argued, would sweeten the pot: “This trade values Coleman as a fourth-rounder, which seems about right for a player who hasn’t consistently impressed so far as a pro.”

Short Leash Despite Votes of Confidence

Despite the external pessimism, there are still voices inside the organization expressing measured optimism. New head coach Joe Brady has publicly stated that he values Coleman and believes the third-year receiver can continue to grow in Buffalo’s system. General manager Brandon Beane echoed a similar sentiment in recent comments to The Athletic, emphasizing growth and maturity.

“Listen, he has to go do it, but I think we feel confident that the maturity level is heading where it needs to,” Beane said. “Again, he’s got to go do it. We believe in the skill set, and that’s part of what your culture is. We all grow at different times; none of us were a made product at 21, 22. Do you wish you had to go through that with him? No, you don’t. But you hope for us, and for him, he looks back and says, ‘That was the best thing that happened to me.’”

Even so, Pegula’s very public criticism during the coaching change fallout sent a clear message: Coleman is on a short leash. His off-field lapses and on-field inconsistency have eroded much of the goodwill that came with his high draft status. With a modest cap hit and the team’s deepened receiver corps, the Bills could choose to keep him as a low-risk depth option with red-zone upside—but only if he proves he can stay reliable and productive.

The Bottom Line

Two years after investing a valuable second-round selection, the Bills now find themselves in a position where Coleman’s perceived trade value has sunk to late-round draft-pick territory, or potentially nothing at all if he fails to impress in training camp. Pegula’s willingness to publicly blame the previous regime for the pick speaks volumes about the internal view of the situation.

Whether Buffalo ultimately trades Coleman to Las Vegas for a sixth, packages him in a larger draft-day maneuver with Tennessee, or rolls the dice on his development one more time, one thing is clear: the gamble on the big, athletic receiver from two years ago has not paid off as hoped. For a franchise with Super Bowl aspirations, “something” in return may indeed prove better than watching a once-promising talent fade into irrelevance on the bench—or off the roster entirely.