Four days after arrival, receiver Cole Beasley contributes for Bucs For the fleet, veteran slot receiver, fate turned on a dime. Only a week before being thrust into the Bucs' offensive game plan out of necessity, Cole Beasley was coaching his older son Ace's flag football team and watching younger son Everett play T-ball. The NFL's free-agency phase had come and gone. So had training camps, then the preseason. Yet on Sunday, four days after being signed to the Bucs' practice squad, the 33-year-old veteran found himself lined up in the slot for a decisive two-point try foiled by a delay-of-game penalty with 14 seconds remaining. "It's a big change in a week," Beasley said. Summoned after only three full practice days due to injuries and suspensions within the receiving corps, Beasley answered with three catches for 12 yards in the Bucs' 14-12 defeat. Tom Brady even targeted Beasley at the outset, connecting with him for a 4-yard completion on fourth-and-1 on the opening possession. "He did a good job for us in a short week," Brady said. "It's just being ready, man," added Beasley, who hadn't appeared in a live game, preseason or regular season, since the Bills' playoff loss to the Chiefs on Jan. 23. "You don't want to come in the first game and drop a pass that Tom throws you on fourth down. So just being prepared and being ready and being where he needs me." Joey Knight, The Tampa Bay Times, published 26 September 2022