Cole Beasley Is Back, Signs With Giants After Career Sputtered Since Fallout With Bills Over Vaccine Mandate

Cole Beasley has signed with his third NFL team in the past 10 months.

The New York Giants added the veteran wide receiver Friday — reuniting Beasley with Brian Daboll. Now the Giants' head coach, Daboll was offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills from 2018-21.

The 34-year-old abruptly retired from the NFL after just two games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022. At the time, Beasley's agent Justin Turner said he was "ready to be with his family after playing in 11 seasons, and it's time to be a full-time dad and husband."

Except his retirement lasted only two months as he signed with the Bills on Dec. 13 to provide depth at wide receiver.

The Bills released Beasley on March 17. But if he wasn't signed to a team by Training Camp, the wideout said, he would actually retire for good.

"Coming in when the season has already started doesn't give me a chance to be implemented and make an impact," he tweeted. "I need camp to develop chemistry with everyone and build confidence. If they won’t give me that then they don’t want me there."

Cole Beasley Gets Fresh Opportunity in New York

Despite a tumultuous 2022, Beasley boasts more than a decade of production in the NFL — with 556 career receptions for 5,744 yards and 34 touchdowns over his 11 NFL seasons.

He spent the first seven years with the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Bills (for the first time) in 2019.

(Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

But his time in Buffalo was met with some tension.

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.

"It's all politics, It's crazy," Beasley told OutKick's Armando Salguero. "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."

But despite the negative press he endured for his vaccination status, Beasley had the best season of his career with the Bills in 2020. He recorded 967 yards and four touchdowns on 82 receptions in 15 games.

His teammates didn't give up on him and — clearly — neither did Coach Daboll.

Giants Training Camp opens Tuesday.