Veteran wide receiver Cole Beasley retires the NFL after 11 seasons

After 11 seasons, wide receiver Cole Beasley has made the decision to retire the NFL, according to his agency on Wednesday.

After playing for 11 seasons, “He is ready to be with his family after playing 11 seasons and it’s time to be a full-time dad and husband,” reporter says.

“His wife and kids are still back home in Texas. They came out for the first game, went through the evacuation last week which the Tampa Bay organization hasn’t received near the credit they deserve for the way they handled [Hurricane Ian] — nothing but first class by the Glazer family, [general manager] Jason [Licht] and [coach] Todd [Bowles]. He doesn’t want to be separated from them anymore. He loves his wife and kids and wants to be with them.”

On September 20, Beasley, 33, joined with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training squad. Four days later, he was promoted to the active roster. He played in two games, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers, with four catches for 17 receiving yards. Beasley admitted that he wasn’t sure whether he’d ever have another chance to play when he joined with the Bucs.

Turner said, “For a young man that came out of SMU that not one all-star game invited to play in, who prepared for his pro day working out by himself on campus and who 31 other teams in the NFL passed on as an undrafted free agent with only the Dallas Cowboys offering him a contract — he has had an incredible career,” “We could not be prouder of him in every facet and appreciate each organisation that he played for and allowed him to live the American dream. Cole always gave it his all .”

Early in March, the Buffalo Bills had given Beasley permission to look for a trade, but he was ultimately let go.

With the Bills, with whom he signed as a free agent in 2019, Beasley finished both seasons with a career-high 82 receptions. He was a critic of the NFL’s COVID-19 rules, which have been loosened this season, and was penalised numerous times for breaking the COVID-19 regulations last season. Beasley missed a game last season after testing positive for the virus; he is unvaccinated against COVID-19.

He stated last year that, while he had no issue with people being immunised or not, he valued the freedom of choice.

Beasley signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cowboys in 2012, where he began his professional career. Because of his ability to expose weak spots in zone coverages and his quickness, which made him challenging to control in man-to-man coverage, he became one of the NFL’s better slot receivers.

With 554 receptions for 5,726 yards and 34 touchdowns, he ends the season. Although he was never chosen for the Pro Bowl, The Associated Press named him to the second team All-Pro in 2020 after he recorded career highs in receptions and yards (967).