Bills GM Brandon Beane explained the reasons behind Buffalo's decision to pull the trigger on a trade with Cleveland to land third-year receiver Corey Coleman on Monday morning. Chief among them, speed.
"Corey, he's speed," said Beane. "I remember scouting him in college. We did a private visit with him so I got to know him a bit, his makeup. I'm definitely always looking to add speed, on both sides of the ball. You can't coach speed, so you're always looking to add it. That was one of his attractive qualities coming out and he's still got that."
Coleman ran a 4.37 40 time at his Baylor pro day before the 2016 draft.
For Beane and the Bills, they saw a low risk opportunity to add a skilled player at a position that has a lot of unproven talent. Buffalo's GM confirmed the Bills parted with only a seventh-round pick in 2020 for Coleman.
Talks were described as on and off with the Browns, but Beane said they picked back up the last few days before the deal was struck Sunday evening.
Beane said Coleman won't be handed anything. He'll have to get up to speed quickly with the offensive playbook and earn a spot on the roster.
"We'll sit him down and tell him how we do things here, what the expectations are assuming he passes a physical and lay out a standard of what we expect," he said. "He's coming in to compete and earn a job."
Coleman was en route traveling to Bills training camp in Pittsford. He's expected to arrive midday and undergo the medical exams and pass a physical to make the trade official.
It's likely that he'll be in team meetings this evening as he's introduced to Buffalo's playbook.
Beane wouldn't rule out the chance that Coleman could play in the team's preseason opener, but made it sound unlikely.
"We don't want to put anybody out there who isn't ready," said Beane.
