Cole Beasley Recalls How Things Changed With Bills After He Declined Vaccines And Admits A Shadow May Remain
Cole Beasley's plan right now is to not retire.
That's the first thing you should know despite the fact he sort of retired after a couple of games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season and didn't produce as hoped with the Buffalo Bills when he returned later in the season.
"I have a workout on the 21st ," Beasley said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with OutKick. "I'm not going to say who because I don't know if they want me to mention that right now. That's why I'm here. Been preparing for that. And trying to stay ready."
Free Agent receiver Cole Beasley trains in preparation for upcoming workout with NFL team. (Photo by Armando Salguero).
Cole Beasley Training For Workout
Beasley is training in Orlando with former Bills teammates Matt Milano and Gabe Davis at the new Draft Academy workout and recovery facility Davis opened on Tuesday.
He's expecting to be in top form for that workout and is optimistic the opportunity will lead to a contract that gets him on a roster in time for the opening of training camp.
What's more interesting is Beasley hasn't lost his taste for the NFL at 34-years-old despite his experiences the last couple of seasons. And at least one team hasn't eliminated him from their free agency list based on his reputation as a man unwilling to sacrifice his beliefs in exchange for roster security.
NFL teams, you see, mostly like players that shut up and play.
And Beasley definitely didn't do that in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cole Beasley of the Buffalo Bills runs with the ball in the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs during the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 24, 2021 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Treatment In Buffalo Changed For Cole Beasley
Unlike a majority of players, Beasley declined to be vaccinated with any of the initial shots and multiple boosters that have since been proven ineffective at immunizing anyone from Covid-19.
Beasley instead, stood his ground against a wave of pressure to get the shots. And that came with consequences.
"Buffalo changed for me after that," Beasley said. "It was different in the organization, it was different in the facility and it was different with the fans as well. I went from, like my first year there, I loved Buffalo and I found my love for football again there. And I appreciated that. But once Covid hit, all that kind of changed."
Beasley's production didn't drop in the first year of the pandemic in 2020. It actually improved from his first year in Buffalo in 2019.
But by 2021 when the vaccines came on line and players, coaches, staff and others were pressured (some at the risk of not being allowed to work) to take the shots, the atmosphere changed for Beasley.
Because Cole Beasley didn't want to take the shots.
"And it's all politics. It's crazy," Beasley said. "It's almost like they forgot who I was before that. I don't know, there was just a big change after that. It was kind of tough for me after that."
Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills celebrates with Cole Beasley after throwing an 11 yard touchdown pass against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second quarter in the game at Allegiant Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Bills Teammates Didn't Abandon Beasley
Beasley says the change didn't come from other players. "Never teammates," he said. "Teammates are always supportive. Most of them are on my side anyway, for people like you who may be wondering."
But Beasley saw change in how he was treated and perceived among fans and other people in the organization.
"I mean the fans are one thing, but the people in the building is another thing," Beasley said. "That affected me more so than the fans. I've always dealt with fans giving me , even in Dallas. So that was something I could deal with. But when you start seeing changes within the organization, with how people are treating you there, that's a different deal."
The irony is Beasley's vaccine reticence wasn't wrong. The CDC ultimately deemed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine ineffective and stopped its use in the United States when supplies expired. The Pfizer and Moderna monovalent vaccines used in 2021 were taken off the market by the FDA.
India, a country with approximately 1.4 billion people, banned the Pfizer vaccine altogether.
The NFL announced in the spring of 2022 it would no longer require any Covid-19 vaccines for anyone.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver Cole Beasley catches a pass before the regular season game between the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 25, 2022 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Do Teams View Beasley Differently?
So does Beasley feel vindicated?
"I do," he said. "But there's still some people out there that say I'm still wrong. I don't know how. Everybody always says you're not a doctor, you're not to give advice. I wasn't giving advice. I was just saying I didn't want to do that. You know what I mean?
"I was just saying it wasn't right to force people to do that. But I wasn't saying don't go get it. It is what it is, and I feel like I made the right decision. I'm not criticizing anybody else's decision for doing what they feel, either."
Beasley's public stance might have hurt his status in Buffalo in 2021. And he acknowledges speaking his mind could have hurt his career. It might even continue to hurt.
"You never know for sure, but I don't think any organization, or at least the one I played for at the time liked me doing that," Beasley said. "They definitely didn't. So I'm only assuming other organizations feel the same way. They like guys to be quiet and not say anything and go with the flow. And I haven't been a guy to really do that at times. So it definitely works against me a little bit."
That, for the record, is not who Beasley was during his nine NFL seasons before the vaccines.
"I'm not really a guy that likes to get involved in politics," he said. "I never have been my entire career until that one issue. But when it starts affecting how I have to live my life then it's an issue for me. Especially when none of it really makes sense at the time.
"And then how they were treating other guys that felt the same way as me that were coming in undrafted ... I was an undrafted guy so I felt for those guys. And they weren't even getting an opportunity if they didn't do that.
"So it was just an issue that I kind of had to attack at the time and speak for those who really couldn't speak for themselves."