Former Bucs WR retires in Week 15

Looks like Tom Brady isn’t the only Bucs player to take early retirement. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network has reported that former Bucs wide receiver Cole Beasley has come out of retirement and signed with his old team’s practice squad, the Buffalo Bills.

Beasley, who is best known for playing many seasons with the Cowboys and Bills, had a very short stint with the Bucs this season. He signed with the Tampa Bay exhibition squad in Week 3 and was then called up to the active roster to play in Weeks 3 and 4. Beasley recorded four catches for 17 total yards and both games ended in a loss.

Beasely the following week decided to retire stating that he was ready to be a “full-time father and husband”. Apparently, something changed his mind on that subject and he’s back to being a full-time football player. Beasley returns to the Bills where he spent three seasons with the organization. They have a 10-3 record and are ranked first in the AFC.

Beasley responds quickly Stay with Bucs

Beasley had an interesting tweet in early November commenting on his time with the Bucs. In response to a question, Beasley said he would never get much playing time based on the salaries of some of the other receivers in the room. He later deleted the tweet.

Bucs WRs Mike Evans and Russell Gage – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Without saying it, this could be interpreted as a reason why Beasley retired as he is now back in the league just two months later. It’s a strange feeling for Beasley to give this answer, since he knew the situation he was in when the Bucs signed him.

At the time, Mike Evans was suspended for the game against the Packers, and Chris Godwin and Julio Jones were injured. This made Russell Gage Jr. the number one receiver with Scotty Miller, Breshad Perriman and Beasley receiving playing time.

However, Evans, Godwin and Jones all returned in Beasley’s second game the following week. Not expecting any of these players to come back to take more snaps of their own sounds like a big mistake. You would think this was the situation at the signing.