Bills' Keon Coleman a healthy scratch after late to meeting

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman was a healthy scratch for his team's 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Coleman's inactive status was not related to on-field performance. It was instead because he was late to a team meeting Friday morning, per coach Sean McDermott and Coleman. Before that, the Bills had planned to play him.

"Just got to be better," Coleman said after the game. "Focus on next week."

Coleman was a full participant in practice all week. It was the first time in his career he was a healthy scratch for a full game.

The 2024 second-round pick has 32 receptions on 49 targets for 330 yards and three touchdowns this season. In Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, Coleman caught eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Since then, he has 24 receptions, 218 receiving yards and two touchdown catches.

The Bills elevated wide receiver Gabe Davis from the practice squad for his first game since suffering a torn left meniscus when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars last November. It was his first game with Buffalo since 2023; Davis played with the Bills for the first four years of his NFL career.

Buffalo also signed wide receiver/returner Mecole Hardman to the active roster from the practice squad before the game after he joined the team earlier this week.

"Nobody's perfect, but in this league, we need guys to come on," Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said. "And Keon knows, right? Now, he's in the hot seat, and he needs to come on and show up for us. Pats on the back are over with, and it's time for him to grow up, and he knows it."

Coleman was benched for the first series of the team's Week 5 contest against the New England Patriots. He was previously benched for the first quarter against the Jaguars in his rookie season for not being on time.

"I mean, I knew that," Coleman said on when he realized he was going to be inactive. "S---, you can't keep doing it. You can't make those type of mistakes. You're a professional."

McDermott said he feels Coleman will grow from this.

"It is disappointing [Coleman was in a situation to be disciplined again], but I still believe in the young man, and we get to a certain point and I've gotta do something," McDermott said. "I try and give the guys some -- a kind of a strike approach. Hey, you get a chance to show your teammates that's not really who you are. And then, when it happens again, then I step in. So, I believe he will learn from it. He takes it seriously, and he will move forward in a way of growing from this, and that's the whole goal."