Bills' Cole Beasley 'Not Slandering Josh Allen' In 'Crazy' QB Controversy?
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If Cole Beasley was attempting to audition for the countless debate programs that dominate the sports media scene, his recent series of tweets might've made him a slam-dunk candidate.
Alas, he may have lost a positive connection with his last employer in the process.
Beasley, a current free agent who spent parts of last season with the Buffalo Bills, weighed in on the evolving quarterback power hierarchy in the AFC, one that will include Aaron Rodgers depending on if/when the trade between the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets is completed. The tenured receiver, well-known for his polarizing opinions, had an original thought that would perhaps sting for Bills fans, one that labeled Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs' two-time Super Bowl champion, the NFL's best active quarterback.
The accompanying analysis, however, had a controversial runner-up.
"Only QB in the entire league you can put in front of Rodgers right now is Mahomes and that is it," Beasley said on Twitter. "The disrespect is crazy."
Many chided Beasley for failing to acknowledge his thrower from the past season and three before that, Josh Allen, who has certainly made a name for himself among the NFL's finest passers despite a relative lack of championships prestige. But when confronted with such supposed negligence, Beasley said he was well aware of Allen's existence, claiming he was "definitely up there" and later placed him in the third slot on his supposed rankings.
The bronze medal didn't sit well with Bills fans, some of whom labeled Beasley ungrateful for his collaboration with Allen, especially considering he was a second-team All-Pro in 2020. Beasley acknowledged that he personally his best season came with the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 under the watch of Dak Prescott, but he clarified that Allen remains a "top 3" quarterback.
Beasley's reasons for placing Rodgers ahead of Allen stem from his supposed lack of big-play targets which took an increasingly noticeable prescience last season. To his point, Rodgers' top target was fellow future Jet Allen Lazard, who tallied 788 yards and six scores.
The former Dallas Cowboys wideout was also impressed by Rodgers' consecutive MVP awards from the 2020-21 seasons, a streak that came to a grinding halt when he posted a 91.1 passer rating, the worst in his 15 seasons as the Packers' full-time starter. Beasley believes that recency bias has blinded some to what Rodgers is truly capable of.
Beasley more or less capped off his rambling by channeling Gary Cole's character from the film "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," claiming that those engaging with him in the great passing debate were channeling the ill-bestowed advice he constantly harps upon his eponymous son portrayed by Will Ferrell.
Time will tell if Beasley, who ended a brief retirement to join the Bills' ultimately futile championship run, will return to Western New York for another tour. If anything, however, he's keeping his prospects in Kansas City, East Rutherford ... and maybe Bristol ... wide open.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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