Bills HC explains WR Keon Coleman's surprising first-quarter absence vs. Jaguars

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott explained why rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman was absent from the first quarter of the team's Week 3 win.

Kyle Silagyi | Sep 24, 2024

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

In this story:

Buffalo Bills | News, Scores, Schedules & Standings

Though the Buffalo Bills have an intentionally versatile and robust weapons corps that, by design, does not have an alpha target, rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman had been the group’s most featured player throughout the first two games of the 2024 campaign, playing on a position-high 73% of the team’s offensive snaps in Week 1 before playing on 91% of his unit’s snaps in Week 2. His playtime took an unexpected dip in Buffalo’s Week 3 Monday Night Football thrashing of the Jacksonville Jaguars, however, as he played on just 20 snaps (31%).

Coleman’s snap share slide was not a product of his on-field performance, as the team’s brass decided to sideline him for the first quarter of Monday's game in response to the rookie being late at some point during the week. Head coach Sean McDermott shared insight into his decision during his postgame press conference.

“I’ll mention Keon’s situation, I sat Keon for the first quarter of the game,” McDermott said. “It will be a learning opportunity for him. Really, it was an issue that dealt with being on time. He knows he’s accountable to his teammates. We addressed it. We support him, and we move forward. I thought he played a good game tonight, had that, I think it was one catch for a touchdown there, so that was good to see.”

Coleman responded when he ultimately was inserted into the lineup, reeling in his first career touchdown on a 24-yard second-quarter pass that will long serve as a highlight for both the rookie and quarterback Josh Allen. The big-bodied pass-catcher created separation from Jacksonville defender Montaric Brown on a crossing pattern, with Allen simply dropping back and flicking the ball to his wide-open target to put the game firmly in Buffalo’s control.

Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

McDermott decided against providing additional details regarding Coleman’s early benching, but he was pleased with the rookie’s on-and-off-field response, feeling as though he’ll learn from the experience.

“I don’t want to give out details, I don’t think it’s necessary,” McDermott said. “I’m just very impressed with the way Keon handled it and then to go back out there in the second quarter, I think it was the second quarter when he caught the touchdown pass. I know how important his teammates are to him, and again, this will be a learning opportunity for him.”

The Bills selected Coleman with the first pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, hoping that the physical ball of clay could develop into an integral part of their receiving corps. His early season usage indicated that the team had immense faith in the wideout and viewed him as a key offensive contributor; given McDermott’s comments and reiterated trust, the Buffalo faithful should not view his first-quarter benching against Jacksonville as a sign of his role potentially decreasing.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —