Sports

Keon Coleman will once again be conspicuously absent for the Buffalo Bills this week.

The second-year wide receiver is a healthy scratch for Buffalo's "Thursday Night Football" game against the Houston Texans, a week after being ruled inactive due to reported disciplinary issues. With Curtis Samuel also inactive and Mecole Hardman Jr. hitting injured reserve, the Bills again elevated Gabe Davis from the practice squad.

The issue with Coleman last week was the 22-year-old reportedly missing a team meeting on Friday. It's unclear if anything else happened in the time since, though Bills head coach Sean McDermott indicated earlier this week that earning the team's trust back won't be an automatic process.

From ESPN:

"I'm aware of how he handled it more publicly, and I appreciate that and respect that," coach Sean McDermott said on Tuesday. "And now it's again, one day at a time, and earning the trust and respect of the teammates. And that takes time, so that each day that goes by, you check 'em off as wins, trust builds. So, that's the important piece of it."

The Bills offense barely missed a beat without Coleman in a 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quarterback Josh Allen posted 317 yards on 19-of-30 passing with 3 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions and 0 sacks taken, plus 40 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground. However, only about half of those passing yards were delivered to wide receivers, with Tyrell Shavers the only member of the group to post more than 40 receiving yards.

The 33rd overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, Coleman was selected with the idea that he could develop into a classic X receiver, a big-body target for Allen to look for on every down, especially in the red zone. He got off to a decent enough start as a rookie starter, with 556 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 13 games, but has so far taken a step back this year.

Disciplinary issues also aren't new with him, as this will be the fourth time he's missed at least part of a game for such reasons. He was held out of the first series for a game earlier this season and missed the first quarter of another last year.