Five things you may not know about new Kansas City Chiefs receiver Corey Coleman
Following the 2016 NFL Draft, Sports Illustrated’s writers asked of the Cleveland Browns’ haul of players: “How many of this year’s 14 newcomers will stick?”
The Browns’ first pick was wide receiver Corey Coleman, who was taken No. 15 overall, and he did stay with the Browns ... for all of two seasons. He then went to the Bills, Patriots and Giants. Coleman’s time with New York was his longest with an NFL team (three seasons), but he appeared in just eight games in 2018, and was released from the Giants practice squad in November 2020.
Although he’s caught just 61 passes in 27 career games, Coleman has a new home: the Chiefs. KC agreed to a deal with him Tuesday. With a limited resume, fans may not have heard of Coleman, but here are five things to know.
1. Baylor star
Coleman still holds Baylor’s records for touchdowns in a game (four), season (20) and career (33). He won the 2015 Fred Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation’s best receiver, after leading the nation with 74 receptions.
An All-American, Coleman also returned kickoffs for the Bears.
2. A big drop
The Browns finished the 2017 season with a 0-16 record. In the finale, Cleveland lost 28-24 at Pittsburgh.
Down four in the fourth quarter, Cleveland drove from its own 15-yard line to the Steelers’ 27-yard line. Facing fourth-and-2 with 1:54 in the game, Coleman dropped a pass at the 10-yard line, ending the Browns’ hopes for a win.
3. Hard Knocks
The HBO show “Hard Knocks” focused on the Cleveland Browns during the 2018 preseason, and cameras showed Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley, the former Chiefs head coach, getting on Coleman in practice.
Coleman asked then-coach Hue Jackson why he wasn’t with the first team.
“I you don’t want to play me, what don’t y’all just trade me,” Coleman asked.
The Browns did just that sending, him to the Bills in early August.
4. Connection with Chiefs player
It was a short stay in Buffalo, as the Bills cut Coleman a month later. He signed with the Patriots on Sept. 11, 2018
New England kept Coleman for a week before releasing him to make room for receiver Josh Gordon, who came to the Patriots via trade with the Browns. Coleman and Gordon were teammates in Cleveland and now they are again with the Chiefs.
5. ‘A freak accident’
In October 2018, Coleman was signed to the Giants practice squad and was activated a week later. Coleman appeared in eight games for the Giants, making one start. He caught five passes.
Coleman re-signed with the Giants in 2019, but a torn ACL in training camp knocked him out for the season.
“It was a freak accident. I didn’t even know,” Coleman told NJ Advance Media in 2019. “The next day I still didn’t know. I was like, ‘My knee is a little stiff.’ They were like, ‘We’re going to hold you out of practice just in case.’ I’m thinking, ‘MRI? Huh? I’m so confused. I’m good. I can practice!’
“We go get the MRI and I see all the doctors and trainers and stuff in one room. I just knew right away: This is not good. It just crushed me.”
Coleman again signed with New York in 2020 and he was on the Giants practice squad before being released shortly before Thanksgiving of that year.
Now the Chiefs are giving him another chance.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 8:59 AM.
