Sep 12, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) warms up prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Bills’ Cole Beasley, Reid Ferguson offer to buy road tickets for unvaccinated fans

Buffalo Bills receiver Cole Beasley remains defiant in his stance against the COVID-19 vaccination.

He disagrees with the rule that only vaccinated fans can attend the team’s home games at Highmark Stadium.

So does long snapper Reid Ferguson.

The players told unvaccinated fans via social media this week that if they could find tickets to a road game they can attend, the players will pick up the tab.
Currently the Bills are one of four teams — the Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints — to play in stadiums where fans are required to submit proof of vaccination for entry.

Earlier this week, Twitter user Chris Hauquitz tweeted his disappointment at Beasley.

“@Bease11 sad day for me as a Buffalo fan. I was bringing my 10 year old daughter to her first game in December all the way from Albuquerque,” Hauquitz wrote. “Already bought tickets. I won’t get the shot so now I don’t know what to do. I probably need to sell the tickets and find an away game.”

It got Beasley’s attention.

“If you find an away game you are able to go to then I will buy the tickets for you guys,” Beasley responded. “DM me names and every thing (and) I’ll figure out the best way to make it happen. Wish she could witness the mafia!”

Hauquitz, a father of five, told the Buffalo News that he had COVID-19 and believes he has the antibodies. He added he believes the vaccines were rushed to market and the information that is available “seems to be one-sided.”

Ferguson had a similar exchange with a fan from Nebraska.

The Bills play road games this season against fellow AFC East teams Miami, New York Jets and New England, as well as in Kansas City, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Tampa. They play in New Orleans in November, but vaccinations are mandated for Saints’ home games.

Hauquitz told The Buffalo News that Beasley was working to get tickets for the Chiefs game.

–Field Level Media

Aug 21, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA;  Buffalo Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (19) runs with the ball against Chicago Bears defensive back Marqui Christian (43) during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Bills receivers fined nearly $15K for mask violations

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie said Thursday that the NFL fined him nearly $15,000 for violating the rules about wearing masks for non-vaccinated players.

McKenzie and fellow Bills receiver Cole Beasley, who said he was also fined, are subject to additional discipline for repeat violations, NFL Network reported.

McKenzie posted the letter he received from the league on Twitter.

“They got me! @NFL you win!” McKenzie wrote.

“$14,650 damn (prayer hands emoji) Pray for me,” he also posted.

The letter says McKenzie failed to wear a mask at least twice on Wednesday, once while walking through the indoor fieldhouse and into the training room and again while in the meeting area of the weight room.

Potential discipline could stretch up to a four-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team under the repeat offenders provision in the NFL’s COVID-19 policy agreed upon by the NFLPA.

Beasley, who has been vocal in his anti-vaccine stance, did not disclose the amount of his fine. NFL Network reported it was for the same $14,650.

“Don’t worry they got me too. But I was wearing a mask when I was in close contact with fully vaxxed trainer who tested positive and still got sent home. So what’s the point of the mask anyways. Meanwhile I’m here still testing negative and can’t come back. Make it make sense.”

The letter from the NFL states that McKenzie received a written warning on July 27 for “refusing to wear a mask and were specifically advised that ‘future violations of the Protocols will result in increased discipline, including for conduct detrimental.’”

After a member of the Bills training staff, who was vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, four Bills players were identified as close contacts and are required to sit out five days. McKenzie was not one of those players. Beasley, receiver Gabriel Davis and defensive tackles Star Lotulelei and Vernon Butler were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

–Field Level Media

Jun 10, 2021; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Football Team wide receiver Steven Sims Jr. (15) catches a pass during drills as part of minicamp at Inova Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Bills sign WR Steven Sims Jr.

The Buffalo Bills added depth to their wide receiver group by signing Steven Sims Jr. to a contract Wednesday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed for Sims, who was cut two days earlier by the Washington Football Team.

The signing of Sims comes one day after Bills wideouts Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Sims, 24, recorded 27 receptions for 265 yards and one touchdown in 12 games last season. He has 61 catches for 575 yards and five touchdowns in 28 games since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas.

–Field Level Media

Jul 28, 2021; Orchard Park, NY, United States; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) on the field during practice at the Buffalo Bills Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Cole Beasley, Gabriel Davis out after COVID exposure

Buffalo Bills wide receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis are on COVID-19 hiatus after being exposed to a member of the training staff who tested positive, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

Beasley and Davis have tested negative, per the reports.

However, both players are in the re-entry process for the next five days because they are unvaccinated. Vaccinated players who are exposed can continue practicing so long as they return negative tests.

Beasley has been vocal in his opposition to getting the vaccine, most recently releasing an anti-vaccine rap song. In a song titled “Heavy 1s,” Beasley belts out lyrics that include “ain’t no vaccination for me, only evacuation save ’em homie.”

Beasley, 32, is coming off a season in which he recorded career highs of 82 receptions and 967 yards. He also had four touchdown catches.

Davis, 22, had 35 catches for 599 yards with seven touchdowns in his rookie season in Buffalo. The Bills made him a fourth-round selection in the 2020 draft.

–Field Level Media

Jul 28, 2021; Orchard Park, NY, United States; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) comes off the field after practice at the Buffalo Bills Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Bills WR Cole Beasley releases anti-vaccination rap

Buffalo Bills wideout Cole Beasley released a rap song containing lyrics against receiving a COVID-19 vaccination shot.

Beasley’s song titled “Heavy 1s” is an ode to both his uniform number (No. 11) as well as … well, let him tell you.

“I got heavy nuts,” is a prominent lyric, along with anti-vaccination lines such as “ain’t no vaccination for me, only evacuation save ’em homie.”

Beasley, who claims he is pro-choice in terms of information on vaccinations, didn’t stop there.

“To shut my mouth you’re going to have to kill me. If freedom of speech and freedom of choice go out the window then there’s no freedom at all,” Beasley said in the song.

Beasley has been outspoken against vaccinations, even threatening retirement at one point after the NFL and its players association announced new rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated players. He even got into it over social media with teammate Jerry Hughes on the topic, however Beasley noted that he had a calm conversation on the phone with the Bills defensive end.

As for his style of music, Beasley is not new to the rap game. He released his first album in 2018.

Beasley, 32, is coming off a season in which he recorded career highs of 82 receptions and 967 yards. He also had four touchdown catches.

Overall, Beasley has 468 catches for 5,016 yards and 33 touchdowns in 133 games (42 starts) over nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2012-18) and Bills.

–Field Level Media

Bills receiver Cole Beasley celebrates with the crowd after Buffalo beat the Ravens in the AFC divisional game.

Jg 011620 Bills 7

Cole Beasley talks with union after virus protocols complaints

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley said on social media Friday that he has spoken with the NFL Players Association about his issues with the NFL’s new virus policies.

Beasley said he is not inoculated against COVID-19 and made it clear he did not want to receive the vaccine.

“Now we have spoken and are working through it,” Beasley wrote in a reply tweet to a Bills reporter. “From what Ive (sic) been told these are guidelines for preseason and it’s nothing final.”

On Thursday, Beasley aired complaints about the league’s updated COVID-19 protocols for training camp and the preseason, which allow for fully vaccinated players to return mostly to how things were done before the pandemic but keeps stricter guidelines in place for unvaccinated individuals.

Beasley, 32, called the NFLPA a “joke” and asked if anyone will “fight for the players.”

The NFL is not requiring players to get vaccinated. However, its new protocols may encourage some to do so due to the lesser restrictions.

Unvaccinated players will still need to be tested daily for COVID-19 and must keep wearing masks while in team facilities. They cannot interact with anyone outside of their team’s traveling party when on the road. And they will still be required to quarantine if deemed a close contact of a high-risk COVID exposure.

For vaccinated players, these guidelines will be removed or loosened.

Other NFL players, including Washington edge rusher Montez Sweat and Carolina quarterback Sam Darnold, have expressed skepticism or uncertainty about whether to receive the vaccine.

The three vaccines authorized in the U.S. have all been deemed safe by the CDC and have high levels of efficacy.

“I’m not going to take meds for a leg that isn’t broken,” Beasley wrote in another post Friday. “I’d rather take my chances with Covid and build up immunity that way.”

Beasley set career highs with 82 catches and 967 receiving yards in 2020, his second season in Buffalo after playing seven seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.

–Field Level Media

Jan 9, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) runs the ball against the Indianapolis Colts during the first half in the AFC Wild Card game at Bills Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Bills WR Cole Beasley played on broken leg in playoffs

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley on Monday said he played the entire postseason on a partially broken fibula.

Beasley said the injury, which occurred in Week 16 against the New England Patriots, won’t require offseason surgery. Beasley missed the Bills’ Week 17 game against the Miami Dolphins but played in all three playoff games.

“It’s not a full break. It was bad the first game I played but after that you take a few meds and suck it up,” Beasley, 31, said Monday during the team’s season-ending conference call with reporters.

“I knew the (Week 17) game was probably out of the question, they kind of told me it was. That one hurt a little bit,” he said. “But there was no way that I was gonna miss the playoff game, especially after watching in Week 17. I was gonna figure it out, one way or another.”

Beasley caught seven passes for 88 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game. He had seven catches for 57 yards in the wild-card win over Indianapolis. He played 36 snaps against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional playoff game but didn’t record a catch on two targets.

During the regular season, Beasley had 82 catches for 967 yards and four TDs for the Bills.

–Field Level Media