FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots released wide receiver Corey Coleman earlier this week to make room for Josh Gordon on their 53-man roster, but Coleman wasn’t gone for long.
Three days after his release, the Patriots re-signed Coleman to their practice squad, affording the 2016 first-round pick time to learn the team’s complex offense.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick explained during his Friday morning news conference why the team chose to keep Coleman around.
“(He’s) a player we want to work with,” Belichick said. “We’ll see how it goes. We haven’t had him a long time, but he’s done a good job with the opportunities that he’s had. We want to keep working with him. We’ll see how it goes.”
The Cleveland Browns selected Coleman with the 15th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played two injury-shortened seasons in Cleveland before being traded to the Buffalo Bills last month. Buffalo then released him during final cuts, choosing to eat the $3.5 million in guaranteed money Coleman was owed rather than give him a roster spot.
The Patriots signed Coleman to their active roster last Tuesday, but he was inactive for Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and then was released the following day.
A former star at Baylor, Coleman has played in 18 NFL games, catching 56 passes for 718 yards and five touchdowns. He’s one of two receivers currently on the Patriots’ practice squad along with former Detroit Lion Jace Billingsley.
“We’ve gotten to know him a lot better,” Belichick said of Coleman. “We know a lot more (about him) now than we did (before the draft). But yeah, he’s a talented player.”
