Will Cole Beasley play in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars?
Cole Beasley was a central piece of the Covid-19 dialog happening throughout August and September, but once the season kicked into high gear, so did he. Of the eight games he's played in, he's either had at least seven receptions or 60 yards in five of the eight games. Needless to say, Beasley has been a necessary part of the offense. Will the wide receiver be available against the Jaguars?
Will Cole Beasley play this weekend?
According to CBS Sports, Cole Beasley is listed as questionable and his status for the game is in doubt. The wide receiver didn't practice on Thursday and is dealing with an injury to his ribs. For the Bills, who've been remarkably healthy all season long, Beasley's injury is a reminder that people get hurt in the NFL.
Cole Beasley in a red non-contact jersey at practice. Did not see Spencer Brown. twitter.com/agetzenberg/st…
In addition to Beasley, the Bills are also dealing with injuries to Dawson Knox, Jordan Poyer, and Jon Feliciano. Knox is the starting tight end and is out with a broken hand. Poyer is questionable with a shoulder injury and lastly, Feliciano is out with a calf injury.
Luckily, the Bills will be facing the 1-6 Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. If there was one opponent the Bills could be under the weather against, it would be the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence is having a typical rookie season and, barring an explosion out of nowhere, the Bills should coast to a win on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers purposely misled people about his vaccination status. I respect loudly unvaccinated people like Cole Beasley more than I respect Rodgers, who has interacted with people who thought he was vaccinated while not wearing a mask.
With the 4-4 Patriots seemingly starting to round a corner with Mac Jones, the Bills will need to have a sense of urgency entering this game. Put simply, the Patriots are shaping up to be the biggest competition for the Bills in the division. This should put a shiver down the spine of Bills fans and players alike.
As such, it will be important for the team to put together a win as emphatic as their wins over the Dolphins and Texans earlier this season. After dropping a game against the Titans and needing to fight all four quarters against the Miami Dolphins, the Bills will need to win big over the Jaguars to maintain their confidence.
If they don't win in epic fashion, Beasley's Bills could feel the first nagging doubt that the Patriots could exploit as the season progresses. Luckily for the Bills, they have games against the Jets, Colts and Winston-less Saints to get comfortably ahead of the Patriots. However, after that stretch, the Patriots face the Bills twice in three weeks near the end of the season.
If the Bills don't get far enough of the Patriots before then, the Patriots could swipe the division out from under them. To avoid this, the Bills are hoping to get Beasley back for Sunday and future games to make it that much easier to move the ball and maintain a lead over Bill Belichick's Patriots.