Bills’ Cole Beasley, Who Opposed Vaccine Mandate, Moved To COVID-19 List

The Buffalo Bills will be without a valuable member of the offense Sunday against the New England Patriots, as wide receiver Cole Beasley was added to the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Beasley tested positive for the virus.

Beasley is unvaccinated, according to Rapoport, which isn’t surprising considering he was vocal about his vaccine stance over the summer. In July, he read a two-minute statement regarding his opinion on the vaccine to open a press conference.

Beasley said then that he was “not anti- or pro-vax” but was “pro-choice.”

Unvaccinated players who return a positive test for the virus must remain away from the team for 10 days following the date of the positive test. Naturally, that means Beasley will miss Sunday’s game. It’s a different story for vaccinated players who test positive — players who are asymptomatic and have received a COVID-19 vaccine can rejoin the team after one negative test.

Beasley totaled 640 yards and a touchdown on 76 receptions for the Bills through 14 games this season. He was the second-leading receiver on the team behind Stefon Diggs, who enters Sunday’s game with 1,007 yards and eight scores.

The Bills are set for a rematch against the Patriots at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.