Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula created a bit of a kerfuffle on Wednesday while meeting with reporters. He came to the defense of general manager Brandon Beane by making negative comments about a player on the roster, Keon Coleman.
Videos by FanBuzz
Pegula and Beane met with media members on Wednesday to discuss the firing of head coach Sean McDermott. It was during this presser that Beane, who received a promotion in the shakeup, faced questions about the talent level on the roster.
Pegula jumped in and essentially blamed McDermott for drafting the former Florida State wide receiver, who still has two years remaining on his rookie contract.
"I'll address the Keon situation," Pegula said. "The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. 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."
Bills owner Terry Pegula defending GM Brandon Beane by throwing Keon Coleman under the bus like this while he's literally still on the roster is WILD pic.twitter.com/ToLoUiEMlW
— NFL Memes (@NFLMemes) January 21, 2026
The comments, as expected, did not land particularly well considering that Coleman is still a member of the team. Beane made an attempt to shift the conversation by saying that he actually made the pick for Coleman.
"I'm not turning a pick for a player that I don't think we can succeed with," Beane said. "So don't misunderstand that. 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."
While Pegula said that Coleman wasn't Beane's next choice, video told a different story. A clip from the NFL Scouting Combine showed the GM saying he was glad that Coleman had a slower 40-yard dash time as it would "help to get him."
Brandon Beane reacting to Keon Coleman running a 4.57 during the combine:
“I'm glad Coleman ran that. It'll help to get him”
👀👀👀👀pic.twitter.com/NooTFzkHJP
— JPA (@jasrifootball) January 21, 2026
Coleman landed with the Bills as a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He appeared in 13 games, starting 12, while catching 29 passes for 556 yards and four touchdowns.
The former FSU receiver delivered a 112-yard, one-touchdown performance in Week 1, but he did not maintain this level of performance throughout the season. He missed the start of a Patriots game for disciplinary reasons and then missed the Buccaneers game for more disciplinary reasons.
Coleman ultimately appeared in 13 games. He caught 38 passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns. He failed to surpass 50 receiving yards in a single game after Week 1.
"His issues have not been on the field," Beane added. "They've just been maturity things that he owns. I give him credit. He owns, he doesn't make excuses, which I appreciate.
"The crazy thing is at this time last year we kind of went through where he was trending up. He had the injury. We were a little disappointed at how he came back."
