Five years ago, Brian Daboll unwittingly helped Cole Beasley fall in love with football again after the receiver signed with the Bills.
This summer, Beasley, the 34-year-old chasing one more shot at winning a Super Bowl, is hoping lightning strikes a second time with Daboll — this time on the Giants.
Beasley spent the first seven years of his NFL career with the Cowboys and was, at times, a pain the Giants’ rear end. He’s now hoping to cap his productive career playing for the very team he used to torment.
If Beasley can recreate what he had from 2019-21 in Buffalo, with Daboll as his offensve coordinator, the Giants may well have a find in the 5-foot-8, 174-pound veteran slot receiver.
“Dabes was a big part of making football fun for me again when I got to Buffalo,’’ Beasley said. “Dallas kind of grinded on me a little bit, and when I got to Buffalo, I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got one or two years left.’ But in Buffalo playing for Daboll, it kind of brought the love of the game back for me.’’
Beasley, in Daboll’s receiver-friendly Bills offensive system, caught 231 passes for Buffalo. It was, by far, the best stretch of his career. Beasley averaged 3.1 catches and 31.8 yards per game in 103 games with Dallas and improved to 4.9 catches for 51.2 yards per game with the Bills in 48 games. He caught 82 passes in 2020 and 2021 after catching 67 in 2019.
Beasley is hoping this final stop works for him, but there are challenges in numbers in the Giants’ receivers room, which is particularly overcrowded with slot receivers.
Incumbent Sterling Shepard has returned from his 2022 knee injury. Jamison Crowder, a 30-year-old veteran who’s a slot specialist, was signed as a free agent. So, too, was speedy Parris Campbell. Wan’Dale Robinson, a 2022 draft pick, is also coming back from a knee injury last season, but remains on the physically unable to perform list.
Beasley, a savvy veteran, knows the deal. He understands the challenges ahead of him, facing younger competition in a young man’s game. He knows he has an edge, having been successful in Daboll’s system, but he also knows one of the tenets of Daboll’s coaching philosophy is that meritocracy rules.
“He didn’t tell me what my role was going to be,’’ Beasley said. “There were no promises made. You’re going to have to earn everything you get, and I respect that.’’
Asked about his opportunity in the slot for the Giants, Beasley said: “I want to be whatever they need me to be and just help this team win. It still would be nice to get a Super Bowl. That’s really the ultimate goal. Whether I have to play 50 plays or 10 … I’ll do whatever they ask me.’’
Beasley has had his share of trying times the past few years.
Turbulence developed in Buffalo when he became one of the most vocal anti-vaccine critics in the league during the COVID-19 crisis. He said in 2021 he would rather retire than be forced to get vaccinated (players were never required to be vaccinated). He said he wasn’t pro or anti-vaccine, but “pro-choice.”
“It definitely changed a lot for me at that point,’’ Beasley said of the COVID-19 issues. “I’m just glad we’ve moved past that and it’s over.’’
On the field, he has had trying times, such as last season, which he began with the Buccaneers, with which he played just two games.
“I didn’t want to retire to begin with,’’ Beasley said. “I was in a situation in Tampa that I didn’t want to me in. I wanted to keep playing last year. When I went to Tampa, I thought the situation would be a little different than it was — I thought [Chris] Godwin was going to be out a little longer [after his Week 1 hamstring injury], and he literally came back the week after I signed there.
“That threw a wrench into the things, and I retired because I wanted to get out of there, not because I wanted to retire. Last year didn’t happen like I wanted it to. It was kind of like 50 plays in practice and three in the game. I was like, ‘If that’s what it is, then I’ll retire.’ ”
Beasley left the Buccaneers and went home to Texas to spend time with his family. He said he “had a good time, got to do a lot of things with my family and my kids and be at home and coach my boys,’’ adding, “It gave me a little sneak peek at what it’ll be like after [football].’’
But Beasley, who returned in December to play four games for the Bills, including their two playoff games, isn’t ready for that eventual reality just yet.
“I still have the hunger to play,’’ he said. “So, I wanted to go out on my terms. I felt like I still have something left and I didn’t get to go out how I wanted to, so that was ultimately what brought me back.’’
