Keon Coleman is trying to move past criticism as roster pressure builds

ORCHARD PARK - The noise surrounding Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman has hardly abated from the moment team owner Terry Pegula uttered his name at the now infamous press conference following the firing of Sean McDermott.

You remember that day, right?

President/general manager Brandon Beane was asked a rather innocuous question about the wide receiver position which let the Bills down in 2025, particularly Coleman, and Pegula interrupted Beane before he could answer.

“I’ll address the Keon situation; the coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said. “I’m not 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 taken, for some reason, heat over it, and not saying a word about it, but I’m here to tell you the true story.”

Now, to anyone reading between the lines, that sure seemed as if Pegula felt like it was a mistake at the time, and certainly a mistake in hindsight, to have selected Coleman with the first pick of the second round in the 2024 draft.

And looking at Coleman’s first two seasons, filled with inconsistency on the field and immaturity off the field, it wasn’t like Pegula didn’t have a valid reason to question the decision, regardless of who made it.

What Keon Coleman said as questions followed him to OTAs

Tuesday, Coleman met with reporters following an OTA session at One Bills Drive for the first time since Pegula tossed that match into the puddle of gasoline, and naturally, the subject was broached.

“I don’t got nothing to say about that,” Coleman said. “My job is just come out here and play football. I’m a professional, man. I really don’t have a reaction to it. Words are one thing, actions are another. I’m still here, so just a blessing and just come out here to compete.”

When he was asked if he had spoken to Pegula about it, Coleman said, “I didn’t have none. Had no concerns about it. Like I said, I’m still here, I was not traded, none of the crazy things happened. I’m still here, living in my house, coming out here to compete. I’m blessed.”

Joe Brady and Josh Allen back Coleman’s development

Joe Brady, Buffalo’s offensive coordinator during Coleman’s first two seasons and now the head coach, has repeatedly supported the receiver whenever he’s been asked about him this offseason, and he did so again Tuesday.

“As a professional football coach, as a professional football player, you can’t get caught up in what’s said about you. You just show up and do your job, right?” he said. “He knows some of the elements that happened last year, he owned them. He knew going into this year, it’s another opportunity.

“I made sure once I got the job to let him know he’s gonna be here, he’s gonna be a part of our offense, and I’m excited about him progressing in this offense and getting with Josh (Allen) and doing those things. I love the work ethic, love how he’s kind of been doing it right now. That’s been the biggest thing with him is establishing a pro mentality.”

The first time Brady was asked about Coleman was at his introductory press conference and he revealed a line that has certainly made its rounds. “I told Keon when I got hired, the best thing to happen to Keon Coleman was me being his head coach,” Brady said that day, and Coleman confirmed that phone call Tuesday.

“He called me the night before his press conference, we had a nice talk,” Coleman said. “That’s our conversation. We had a great talk and looking forward to great things this season. I mean I feel like he had that (belief) in me from day one so that don’t make a difference.”

Josh Allen has been asked a few times about Coleman since the end of the 2025 season, and like Brady, he believes the 23-year-old will take strides this year.

“I think it’s in a good spot,” Allen said Tuesday. “I think he continues to get better. He comes out each and every day, he's been putting his hard hat on, going to work, and constant improvement is what I would say about him. He's working extremely hard, and people notice that. I notice that. He’s having a really good start to this offseason … and hopefully that pays off come season time.”

A crowded Buffalo Bills receiver room raises the stakes

The past is the past, Coleman knows he can’t change it, and he also knows he needs to be better in every aspect because he has some serious competition if he hopes to maintain his roster spot. The Bills signed free agents DJ Moore and Trent Sherfield and they drafted Skyler Bell in the fourth round, and there’s also holdovers Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer and maybe even Mecole Hardman and eventually, injured Tyrell Shavers, vying for playing time.

“My job is solely up to me, not to the guys that’s in the room,” he said. “Those guys are great at what they do, but I have my own skill set and things that I bring to the table, so we can all work together, make something work. It’s time to put it all together. Potential things, I don’t really care to hear them. It’s time for me to just put it out there on the field.

Getting benched four games (last season), unacceptable. I don’t need self motivation, though. I know what I’m here to do and what I’m capable of doing. I know what (fans and media are) saying. I hear it, I just don’t care. None of them are gonna come lace them up and try to stand in front of me. None of those things. People are gonna say what they want to say. At the end of the day, my job is to come out here, put my cleats on, strap them up and prove my worth here.”

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist 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 maiorana@gannett.com, 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 responds to criticism as Bills WR battle heats up