Keon Coleman would’ve certainly been stunned watching the Buffalo Bills’ latest 53-minute press conference. The 22-year-old learned that no one in the front office wanted to draft him and that the call largely came from the coaching staff. Pegula sent things further downhill, calling the young WR a bust, and as things spiraled, that disrespect struck a nerve for veteran WR Chad Johnson.

“They will NEVER be able to say shit about him again & will eat their words after we train together this offseason,” Chad Johnson noted on X.

Coleman was supposed to grow into a reliable target for Josh Allen, someone who could take pressure off the rest of the offense. That hasn’t really happened. As a rookie, he finished with 29 catches for 556 yards and four touchdowns. The hope was that Year 2 would look different.

It didn’t. In 2025, Coleman caught 38 passes for 404 yards and four scores in 13 games. Useful production, but nowhere near the breakout the Bills envisioned when they drafted him.

With Coleman failing to meet the expectations, Pegula seemingly didn’t want the blame to land on him or the general manager, for that matter.

“I’ll address the Keon situation. The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said in the presser. “I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but [Coleman] wasn’t his next choice. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice from his coaching staff, who felt strongly about the player.”

Pegula later told The Associated Press he wasn’t referring directly to Sean McDermott but to another coach he declined to name. Still, that coach was part of McDermott’s staff, so the implication circles right back. And while it was awkward and unfair to the former head coach, it landed even harder on Coleman.

Hard enough that Johnson felt compelled to step in. He’s made it clear he wants to work with Coleman this offseason and help turn him into the kind of receiver teams covet. Whether that actually happens or not is a debate for another day, but Johnson meant well for the young WR. He saw a young player getting publicly undercut by ownership and decided to have his back.

Pegula may be ready to move on, but Johnson is betting Coleman hasn’t shown his best football yet. However this plays out, one thing feels pretty clear: Coleman’s future likely isn’t in Buffalo anymore.

Terry Pegula must trade Keon Coleman

What the front office ultimately decides to do with Keon Coleman is one thing. But when the owner takes a public shot at you, that changes the conversation entirely. Once that happens, it’s hard to imagine any player seeing a long-term future in that building. Before this situation starts bleeding into the locker room, the cleanest move for the Buffalo Bills might be to move Coleman.

He’s only 22, and certainly there’s still plenty of runway left. After two seasons at Michigan State, Coleman transferred to Florida State and took off. He earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022 and followed that with first-team All-ACC recognition the next year. The talent was obvious to everyone. That’s why he declared early for the 2024 draft.

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Buffalo took him 33rd overall and signed him to a four-year deal worth just over $10 million, including a $4.1 million signing bonus. From a contract standpoint, that alone makes a quick exit complicated. As much as Coleman might want a fresh start right now, it doesn’t appear ownership is eager to push him out the door.

“His issues have not been on the field. They’ve just been maturity things that he owns,” Pegula said. “I give him credit. He doesn’t make excuses, which I appreciate.”

Pegula framed it as a developmental challenge, something the front office and coaching staff still believe they can work through. Coleman was benched for the opening series of a Week 5 loss to New England as discipline. About a month later, he was a healthy scratch against Tampa Bay.

That marked the third disciplinary action in a short span, dating back to a missed meeting during his rookie year. Money matters here, too. The Bills are already sitting roughly $3 million over the cap, so creating another financial wrinkle isn’t appealing. From Pegula’s perspective, that makes patience understandable.

But this cuts both ways. Public comments like that don’t fade easily, especially for a young player trying to establish himself in the league. Even if Buffalo isn’t in a hurry to trade him, it’s hard to believe Coleman wouldn’t want out after this. At some point, one side is going to have to blink.