On Saturday, the Bills released longtime starter LeSean McCoy. There have been rumblings about the running back’s job security for a while, but GM Brandon Beane says it wasn’t an easy call.
“This allows Devin more opportunities to show what he can do for the team,” said Beane. “We believe in LeSean and still believe he can play, but you can’t look at every decision in a vaccum. After the draft Devin was a guy we were excited about, but some guys transition faster and some guys transition slower. That’s one of the decisions. Who is ready in that running back group to contribute right away? And we just felt right now that Devin would be able to help us along with the other guys that we’re keeping.”
Here’s more on Buffalo and Shady:
- The Texans, Chargers, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Raiders are teams to watch in the McCoy chase, Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter) opines. The Texans would make a ton of sense following Lamar Miller‘s injury, though they also have a capable back in Duke Johnson. The Chiefs, meanwhile, may or may not be all in with Damien Williams.
- The Bills did not ask McCoy to take a pay cut before dropping him, Florio (on Twitter) hears.
- Beane does not fault McCoy for his lack of production in 2018. “Last year, I don’t fault LeSean. Our offense didn’t get into a rhythm. You can put a lot of that on me,” Beane said.
- Beane added that the team gauged the trade market on McCoy, but not until very late in the process. The GM also indicated that he was concerned about how McCoy would react to being used in an RB-by-committee backfield.