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The Buffalo Bills won't have one of their top wide receivers in the fold when they host Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as coach Sean McDermott has made Keon Coleman a healthy scratch for Week 11 after he was late to meetings on Friday morning, per NFL Media. Meanwhile, ESPN reports Coleman missed the meeting entirely. 

One source told CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones that these are "growing pains" for Coleman. Speculation intensified about Coleman's status on Saturday, the same day the Bills elevated wide receiver Gabe Davis from the practice squad, and signed Mecole Hardman to the 53-man roster. Now, Coleman is inactive.

Coleman has 32 catches for 330 yards and three touchdowns this season, and caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Miami Dolphins. Buffalo has lost three out of its past five games after starting 4-0, while averaging just 23 points per game. 

Coleman hasn't been the receiver the Bills imagined when they selected him No. 33 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He quickly endeared himself to Bills Mafia with his humorous quotes and fun personality. He taught us to buy winter clothes in the summertime and made everyone laugh with his "I'm Tiger Wish-He-Could" comment, but Coleman has averaged just 40.3 yards receiving per contest and seven touchdown catches in 22 NFL games.

Coleman has all the potential in the world. Coming out of Florida State, he was a first team All-ACC wide receiver, and led the conference in receiving touchdowns (11) and punt return yards (300). However, Coleman apparently failed to do the simple things, and him being benched is nothing new.

Coleman benched as a rookie for being tardy

Coleman was held out of the first quarter of Buffalo's Week 3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last season for being late to something.

"So, sat Keon for the first quarter of the game," McDermott said at the time. "It will be a learning opportunity for him, and really it was an issue that dealt with being on time, and he knows he's accountable to his teammates. We addressed it, we support him, and we move forward."

It was a game the Bills won, 47-10, and Coleman actually caught his first career touchdown when he stepped onto the field that night. 

Coleman called the brief benching a "growing pain in a sense," according to ESPN. The rookie said that he cared about his role on the team, and didn't want to indicate otherwise. 

"It is frustrating because you know you're better than that as a person and individual," Coleman said. "And you don't like the things that it shows. Sometimes it might show that you don't care and that's not the case. You want to eliminate those things."

Unfortunately, this was not the first time the Bills coaching staff felt the need to step in to discipline Coleman.

Coleman benched for first series in Week 5

Earlier this season in the 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots, Coleman was held off the field for the Bills' first drive of the game. This was due to disciplinary reasons, according to McDermott, but he didn't offer much of an explanation why. 

McDermott was later asked by reporters if he was disappointed that an issue arose that caused him to bench Coleman.

"We expect more, and he has shown growth this year, he has," McDermott said. "We're looking for more consistency." 

Where is McDermott looking for more consistency?

"Growth, maturation, that leads to consistency more than anything," McDermott said. "And like anything else, you have winning habits, that leads to winning on the field and so that's really what we're trying to create and that's what we're here to do is help young men in this case grow and mature and develop and become professionals and that's part of the process." 

Just like the first time Coleman was benched, he returned to the lineup and made an impact. Against New England that Sunday night, he caught four passes for 23 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown. 

Coleman has now been benched for one series, one quarter, and an entire game. Buffalo's disciplinary actions have escalated. With the Bills trailing the Patriots in the AFC East, this is not a welcomed development for Joe Brady's offense.