Bills' Dion Dawkins has blunt message for WR Keon Coleman after benching

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman was benched on Sunday for disciplinary reasons, and one of his veteran teammates had some honest remarks about the situation after the game.

Coleman was inactive for the Bills' Week 11 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which Buffalo won 44-32. The second-year wide receiver reportedly missed a team meeting on Friday, which is why head coach Sean McDermott decided to make him a healthy scratch.

Before Sunday, Coleman had played in all nine games for the Bills. The former second-round pick has 32 catches for 330 yards and three touchdowns on the season.

Dion Dawkins had a message for Keon Coleman

Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins, who is in his ninth season with the team, spoke with reporters about Coleman following Buffalo's big win. Dawkins said he and some teammates had an honest conversation with the 22-year-old wide receiver.

"I already spoke to him. I spoke to Keon before this game. I told him, I said, 'Bro, look, don't even worry about it. Everybody goes through a different journey, right? Let's just say that this is the last time and let's just move forward,'" Dawkins said. "And he said, 'I'm with you.' That's all that we need, right? Nobody's perfect, but in this league we need guys to come on. Keon knows. Now he's in a 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.

"As an older player on the team, we hold everybody accountable. We shoot straight. We don't sugarcoat it. The words were said to him, and he took it well. We'll see how it goes this week. Like I said in the beginning of the season, I'm in Keon's corner, man. This league is hard. Being on time is hard. Being great is hard. Pushing for greatness is hard. We've got his back, but the time is now."