It won’t be a quiet offseason for Keon Coleman.
The Buffalo Bills receiver found himself in the bullseye just days after the team’s season came to an end against the Denver Broncos in the divisional round. In less than a week, Buffalo opted to fire head coach Sean McDermott, promote general manager, Brandon Beane, and then the owner, Terry Pegula, held a press conference that made more than a few headlines.
Pegula didn’t hold back when it came to discussing Coleman, who is coming off what was a disappointing second season in the NFL.
The 33rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft took a step back in 2025 and has become the posterchild of the Bills’ perceived inability to surround Josh Allen with top notch receivers. Most of the criticism has been directed at Beane, but Pegula shifted that blame elsewhere on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Here’s what Pegula had to say about Coleman and what the receiver’s contract situation looks like.
What did Terry Pegula say about Keon Coleman?
Pegula addressed the Bills’ decision to draft Coleman and why Beane isn’t the person to blame for the selection.
‘The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,’ Pegula said. ‘I’m not saying saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but he wasn’t his next choice. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff, who felt strongly about the player.
‘He’s taking, for some reason, heat over it and not saying a word about it, but I’m here to tell you the true story.’
Those comments certainly raised a few antennas, sparking questions about Coleman’s future with the team. The general manager was then asked how they could move forward with the receiver following Pegula’s comments.
‘He was my pick,’ Beane said. ‘I made the pick. Terry’s point was that we might’ve had a different order of personnel vs. coaching. Ultimately I’m not turning in a pick for a player that I don’t think we can succeed with.
‘Keon Coleman is a young player that has been here two years, has two years left on his deal. It’s up to us to continue to work with him and develop him. His issues have not been on the field. They’ve just been maturity things that he owns.’
Pegula also looked to redirect his earlier comments, saying that he was only trying to show that the Bills collaborate in their process.
‘I don’t think you could look at one player, even Josh (Allen), where somebody thought we could’ve drafted so and so here,’ Pegula said.
Keon Coleman contract
Coleman has two years remaining on the four-year, $10 million rookie contract that he inked after being drafted in 2024.
The 22-year-old is set to carry a cap hit of about $2.7 million in 2026.
Given the potential cap penalties, it would make more sense for Buffalo to find a trade if they wanted to move on from Coleman. A trade prior to June 1 would result in the Bills taking on $2 million in dead cap, but saving just over $674,000, according to OverTheCap.
A post-June 1 trade would give the Bills about $1 million in dead cap and $1.7 million in savings.