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LeSean McCoy News & Rumors

AFC East Links: McCoy, Patriots, Dolphins

March 21st, 2015 at 12:19pm CST by Ben Levine

One of the more surprising offseason moves has been the LeSean McCoy trade. The running back was traded to the Bills earlier in the month, and the two sides soon came to an agreement on an extension. Meanwhile, the Eagles replaced McCoy with a pair of big names, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews.

McCoy did not mince words when he was asked about the Eagles‘ offseason strategy. In fact, while appearing on the The Rich Eisen Show, the 26-year-old touched on Chip Kelly‘s willingness to pay new running backs, but not one of their stars (via Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com):

“I thought about that a little bit,” he said. “I didn’t understand it. I should say that. And Chip I think is a really good coach. I think this is something different for him kind of managing both, from being a coach to now kind of managing the team as far as the players that they get and they pay.

“I saw that they originally were trying to get Frank Gore, and he backed out. So then when they got DeMarco and they got Ryan Mathews, I thought it was like a panic move. With that media in Philadelphia, they can get tough on you. So I guess that was just the way to make it right. I don’t know. I can’t really answer it. They took two backs to replace one. I think DeMarco’s a hell of a back. I think he’ll do a good job there. I’m not sure how that went.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from the AFC East…

  • Defensive end Jabaal Sheard has plenty of reasons to be excited. Not only did he sign a two-year, $11MM contract with the Patriots, but he also went from a non-playoff team to a Super Bowl contender. “Coming from a not-so-good program to a great program that has been winning and doing well, I’ve just been excited,” Sheard told Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. “I want to win in the league, and I want to be part of a great organization. That was a big part of me signing.”
  • Another new member of the Patriots, tight end Scott Chandler, is thrilled about the opportunity to compete for a championship. “I’ve been playing for a while, and I wanted to be a part of an organization that has a pretty good chance to win,” said Chandler (via Howe). “Mr. (Robert) Kraft and coach Belichick have done an amazing job of not only creating that but sustaining it for a long period of time. I’m looking forward to going into this year and doing whatever I can to be a part of that.”
  • Dolphins safety Louis Delmas re-signed with the organization yesterday, and the 27-year-old revealed that he’s quickly recovering from his season-ending ACL tear. “The knee is great,” Delmas said (via ESPN.com’s James Walker). “My doctors and my training staff have been doing a great job of managing me and making sure I’m doing everything protocol-wise to be able to play the first game of the season…I definitely know that I will be ready for the first game of the season.”

Chip Kelly On Mariota, McCoy, Bradford

March 11th, 2015 at 12:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles coach Chip Kelly hosted a press conference this afternoon and we’ve gathered all the highlights right here. All links to go the Twitter feed of PhiladelphiaEagles.com, unless noted otherwise:

  • Kelly told reporters, including the staff of PhiladelphiaEagles.com (on Twitter), that he didn’t think that he needed to control the team’s personnel and said that it was a decision that the team’s owner had made. Of course, Kelly got control over the roster this offseason in a front office reshuffling that saw former GM Howie Roseman change roles. Kelly feels that the biggest difference in the draft this year will be having the final say over matters, something that he didn’t have over the last two years (link).
  • The Eagles coach dispelled the notion that the Eagles will try and trade up for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota (link). The Eagles have been heavily connected to Mariota for months now and speculation has only intensified as Kelly appears more driven than ever to fill the Eagles’ roster with Oregon alum. Kelly feels that Mariota is the best QB in the draft, but he’s unwilling to mortgage the future to land him and the team has too many other needs to address (link).
  • Kelly considered the trade of LeSean McCoy for linebacker Kiko Alonso to be important because it allowed the team to go after cornerback Byron Maxwell (link).
  • The coach claimed that the Bills leaked the news of the McCoy trade before he could call the running back to notify him, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Kelly said it was “essential” to get Mark Sanchez back (link) and added that he never would have been able to acquire a quarterback of Sam Bradford‘s caliber had he not torn his ACL. The team has yet to have extension talks with Bradford (link). That’s not a big concern to Kelly, however, who said that everyone is essentially playing year-to-year and believes that Bradford has tremendous upside (link).
  • The Eagles coach/exec claims that the Eagles were offered a first-round pick for Bradford on Wednesday morning (link). However, Bradford wasn’t brought in to be a trade chip, Kelly said, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (on Twitter).
  • There were other teams involved in the Bradford sweepstakes, Kelly says (link). Meanwhile, the Eagles only spoke with the Rams about Nick Foles.

Bills Acquire LeSean McCoy

March 10th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Zachary Links

MARCH 10th, 4:00pm: The Eagles announced (on Twitter) that the deal is now official.

MARCH 3rd, 6:19pm: Spiller told the NFL Network (on Twitter) that the Bills called him and thanked him for his service with the team. Unsurprisingly, the pending free agent will not be asked back after the acquisition of McCoy. Spiller then went on to intimate that he’d be interested in joining the Eagles, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets. “I’m going to a team that wants me to be there…. I’m pretty sure that Chip (Kelly) has my agent’s phone number”

6:15pm: There will be no draft picks or other players involved as it’s a one-for-one deal, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). He adds that Alonso wanted out of Buffalo. La Canfora (link) expects McCoy to make noise about wanting an extension and/or declining to report and the Bills are already bracing for that possibility.

For his part, Rosenhaus (on Twitter) hears from the Eagles that there is no trade at this time. “I just spoke with the Eagles organization and there is no trade for LeSean at this time. There have been discussions but nothing finalized,” Rosenhaus tweeted.

5:46pm: The Bills have notified linebacker Kiko Alonso that he will be traded to the Eagles for running back LeSean McCoy, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The trade will become official next week.

Although McCoy was not the electrifying playmaker in 2014 that he was in 2013, he still had a very productive season in terms of traditional stats, with 1,319 rushing yards and a 4.2 YPC average. The advanced metrics, meanwhile, show a much sharper contrast between the two campaigns. In 2013, McCoy was rated as the very best tailback in football according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), racking up a 27.3 overall rating which was more than 8 points higher than the runner-up, Jamaal Charles. In 2014, however, McCoy was near the bottom of all qualified tailbacks with a fairly terrible -9.3 grade thanks in large part to his poor showing in the passing game. LeSean McCoy (vertical)

Alonso, 25 in August, didn’t see the field in 2014 after tearing his ACL in July of 2014. After being selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, Alonso finished second in voting for Defensive Rookie of the Year after totaling 87 tackles, four interceptions, and two sacks. The 23-year-old was one of only three linebackers to play 100% of his team’s snaps and many thought he should have been the choice for DROY over Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. Alonso played middle linebacker in a 3-4 defense in 2013 but was slated to be moved to the weak side in the Bills’ 4-3 scheme in 2014. PFF (subscription required) rated Alonso as the ninth-best inside linebacker in the NFL in his rookie season. Because Alonso spent the year on the NFI (non-football injury) list, he’ll only be a restricted free agent after 2016.

The shocking deal figures to have major ramifications for both clubs. The Bills will probably move on from running back C.J. Spiller this offseason after acquiring one of the league’s top backs in McCoy. Also, without Alonso, the Bills will certainly be in the hunt for a starting linebacker. That’s a position that could theoretically be filled by Rex Ryan‘s old friend David Harris and the two have been connected for months now.

Alonso has two years left on his contract at $746K and $942K while McCoy also has two years left on his contract at $6.9MM and $7.6MM. In total, McCoy will count for $10.25MM against the Bills’ cap once the deal is official. Many assumed that the Eagles would push McCoy to restructure his contract, but as of Monday those discussions had yet to take place. The tailback is the only running back with an eight-digit cap hit in 2015.

The deal reunited Alonso with former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly in Philadelphia. Kelly shared his fondness for his former pupil last year, as Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. “I take extra pride in that I got the opportunity to coach Kiko. Extremely dedicated, driven person,” the coach said.

McCoy, for his part, didn’t hear from the Eagles about the trade and only learned of it from agent Drew Rosenhaus right around the time it broke, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Contract Details: Lynch, McCoy, Ingram, Paul

March 9th, 2015 at 11:36am CST by Luke Adams

There were some conflicting – or at least confusing – reports on Friday night about the value of Marshawn Lynch‘s new contract with the Seahawks, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun provides some clarity today, via Twitter. According to Wilson, Lynch’s new three-year pact is worth $31MM, which features $15MM in guaranteed money, including a $7.5MM signing bonus.

Wilson has plenty more numbers on new contract agreements, so let’s round up those updates, with all links going to his Twitter unless otherwise indicated:

LeSean McCoy, Bills Agree To New Contract

March 8th, 2015 at 11:41am CST by Ben Levine

SUNDAY, 11:41am: ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that McCoy and the Bills have agreed on a new five-year deal worth $40MM. McCoy will receive $26.5MM guaranteed and will earn $16MM in 2015. The deal will be finalized when the trade is made official on Tuesday.

SATURDAY, 12:21pm: Following reports that LeSean McCoy wasn’t thrilled about being traded to the Bills, the All-Pro running back may now have a reason to smile. Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo reports (via Twitter) that the two sides are “close” on a new contract, which is expected to be finalized prior to the trade becoming official on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old was acquired by Buffalo earlier in the week in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso. The running back still had two years left on his contract (worth $6.9MM and $7.6MM), and he was estimated to count for $10.25MM against the team’s cap in 2015. While details on a new contract haven’t been reported, it can be assumed McCoy didn’t take too drastic (if any) of a pay cut. His sudden willingness to stick around Buffalo for the foreseeable future indicates that the veteran doesn’t have any qualms about his new deal, which also means the Bills probably paid him handsomely. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport previously reported that the two sides would try to negotiate a new contract, with the intention of giving McCoy some guaranteed money beyond next season.

Following a career season in 2013, McCoy followed that up with a solid 2014 campaign. The running back finished the season with 1,319 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while also adding 28 receptions for 155 yards (both career-lows). Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) weren’t as impressed with McCoy’s production this past season, as they ranked him as the third-lowest running back in the NFL (right in front of Knile Davis and Matt Asiata).

NFC East Notes: Washington, Giants, Spiller

March 6th, 2015 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing today on the NFL Network, Brian Orakpo left the door open for a return to Washington, but didn’t sound overly optimistic about the possibility, as Mike Jones of the Washington Post details.

“There’s obviously a chance. Obviously the window is still there. The sides are still talking, but it’s very minimal right now,” Orakpo said. “It’s always the numbers. Numbers have to make sense for both sides. And I understand, me coming off of injury, they have to look out for themselves, and I have to look out for myself. So, if we can come up with something that works out for both sides, who knows?”

Jones hears from sources that Orakpo’s return to Washington is unlikely, and Dianna Marie Russini of NBC 4 Washington (Twitter link) reports the same thing, even more definitively. It looks like Orakpo will be on the lookout for a new NFL home very soon, and the veteran linebacker said today during that NFL Network appearance that he’d have some interest in playing for a team in his home state of Texas.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

  • With no progress on a long-term deal for restricted-free-agent-to-be Kai Forbath, Washington will likely just offer the kicker a one-year tender, a source tells Jones (Twitter link).
  • If the Ravens and Justin Forsett don’t work out a deal within the next few days, the veteran running back will have an interesting market, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. According to Rapoport, Washington is ready to make a play for Forsett, and the Saints will likely be among his suitors as well.
  • In addition to having interest in Devin McCourty, as he previously reported, the Giants also figure to explore the possibility of signing safety Rahim Moore, says Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. All three of New York’s top safeties from 2014 are eligible for free agency, so there figures to be some turnover at the position next week.
  • Sources close to Chip Kelly tell Russini (Twitter link) that the Eagles head coach wasn’t willing to rework LeSean McCoy‘s contract, especially considering the running back was looking for a raise. I’d be surprised if McCoy thought the Eagles – or the Bills – would increase his $9.75MM base salary for 2015, but perhaps he wanted to renegotiate his deal to include more guarantees beyond ’15.
  • As for the running back McCoy is replacing in Buffalo, C.J. Spiller appears to be campaigning to sign with the Eagles, writes Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com.

East Notes: Dolphins, Suh, Dez, Maclin, McCoy

March 4th, 2015 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Giants are right to consider making a run at Ndamukong Suh, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News writes. The Giants aren’t well-positioned to outbid anyone, but if they were able to pull it off, the team could have a pass rush to rival what they had in 2007 with Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two East divisions, including one more item on Suh:

  • We heard the Dolphins mentioned as a possible suitor for Suh earlier this week, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk lays out the reasons why Miami actually may emerge as the favorites to land the star defensive tackle, with teams like the Raiders, Jaguars, Buccaneers being floated for potential leverage rather than as legit bidders.
  • Last week, former Dallas County DA Craig Watkins indicated that he had “no knowledge” of any 2011 Wal-Mart incident involving Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, but a report of the incident did, in fact, make its way to his office about a year after the fact, as Florio explains at PFT.
  • It looked for a little while as if the Eagles and Jeremy Maclin were getting close to a new deal, but the two sides are farther apart now, and the wideout is starting to get “nibbles,” tweets Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports backs up this assessment, tweeting that there’s “work to be done” on the Maclin front for the Eagles.
  • While running back LeSean McCoy initially wasn’t thrilled about the trade that will send him to the Bills, a source tells McLane (Twitter link) that the veteran back is “ready to move on.” We rounded up several more updates on the reported swap between the Eagles and Bills earlier this morning.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap previews the Patriots‘ offseason, suggesting that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team lets both of its free agent running backs – Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley – sign elsewhere.
  • Veteran safety Jordan Pugh, who last appeared in a regular season game for Washington in 2013, recently worked out for the Jets, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

McCoy/Alonso Notes: Wednesday

March 4th, 2015 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Bills and Eagles shocked the NFL world on Tuesday evening, reportedly agreeing to a trade that will send LeSean McCoy to Buffalo in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso. Trades can’t officially be finalized until the new league year begins next Tuesday, but by all accounts, this deal will happen at that point. We rounded up a few initial reactions to the move last night, but there are several more updates to today to pass along. Here’s the latest:

  • After the swap is formally completed, the Bills are expected to rework McCoy’s contract, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). While that may reduce the running back’s cap number for 2015, don’t expect him to take a pay cut — Rapoport suggests that the goal will be to ensure that McCoy gets some guaranteed money beyond 2015.
  • The Eagles called at least one other team to gauge interest in McCoy before reaching an agreement with the Bills, a source tells Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (Twitter link). Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians confirmed today that he knew Shady was available, but said he “wasn’t a fit” in Arizona (Twitter link via Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com).
  • Alonso did not ask for a trade, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Tim Graham of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
  • A source familiar with C.J. Spiller‘s situation tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (TwitLonger link) that the news was “certainly surprising.” The source added that Spiller is still “processing the personal part,” but suggested it may be a blessing in disguise for the running back to get a fresh start elsewhere.
  • More on the pending deal: Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com breaks down the trade’s winners and losers, Peter King of TheMMQB.com shares his thoughts on the swap, and Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com writes that the move is the latest indication that the Eagles are completely Chip Kelly‘s team.

Reactions To LeSean McCoy Trade

March 3rd, 2015 at 8:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles coach Chip Kelly liked Kiko Alonso in the 2013 draft and had a chance to take him in the second round, Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Kelly had a tough call on his hands but ultimately selected tight end Zach Ertz instead. It took a while, but Kelly got his man on Tuesday night when he shipped LeSean McCoy to the Bills for the linebacker. Here’s a look at the latest on the blockbuster deal…

  • LaDainian Tomlinson said on NFL Network that McCoy told him a few weeks ago that he didn’t think he’d be back with the Eagles, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.
  • The deal came together in a matter of minutes from start to finish, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • The Bills pulled the trigger on the deal in part because they knew C.J. Spiller wasn’t coming back to them, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. The Bills called Spiller soon after news of the McCoy deal got out to thank him for his time in Buffalo.
  • David Moore of The Dallas Morning News wonders if the Eagles dealing McCoy reflects current thought around the league on running backs and, in turn, if it’s a bad sign for pending free agent DeMarco Murray.
  • A source close to McCoy told Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that the running back’s camp was surprised to learn that he had been traded. “Honestly we were under the impression the whole time, that eventually at some point, Chip was going to ask LeSean to restructure his contract–not a pay cut, but convert some of his signing bonus,” the source said.
  • When asked if McCoy might make things difficult for the Bills, that person told Anderson (link): “It’ll be interesting to see how this process plays itself out because he’s an interesting individual. In your mind, when you think of Buffalo you think of cold and losing games. It’s not like it’s the Philadelphia market where you’re always on TV and you’re playing for the division title…It was unexpected. I’ll tell you that much.” The source added that McCoy, who has played the majority of his football at every level in the state Pennsylvania, is not happy to be going to Buffalo (link).
  • The Bills’ acquisition of McCoy will create ripples throughout the AFC East, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com writes. Free agent linebacker David Harris immediately comes out as a winner because the Bills will presumably target him to replace Alonso. Meanwhile, with the prospect of facing McCoy twice per season, the Jets need Harris more than ever which will only help his leverage.
  • McCoy chafed at some of Kelly’s new-age ways, including practicing on Saturdays before games, Jim Corbett of USA Today writes. Now, Corbett wonders if Kelly’s next bold move will be making a play for Marcus Mariota.

Eagles Notes: McCoy, Cole, Maclin

March 2nd, 2015 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

Despite rumors to the contrary, the Eagles haven’t approached running back LeSean McCoy about restructuring his contract, two sources close to the situation tell Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Agent Drew Rosenhaus has since confirmed McLane’s report, as Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Not taking into account Adrian Peterson‘s $15.4MM cap number, which figures to be addressed at some point, McCoy’s $11.95MM figure for 2015 makes him the only running back with an eight-digit cap hit, which makes the deal a candidate to be restructured. So far though, it doesn’t seem as if there’s any urgency on the team’s part.

Here’s more on McCoy and the Eagles:

  • As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, McCoy’s contract doesn’t include any bonuses or guarantees in March, so there’s no real rush for the Eagles to do anything with it. Practically speaking, if the Eagles want to adjust the running back’s deal, they’ll probably do so before the offseason program begins, but they don’t necessarily have to until closer to the regular season.
  • While there have been no contract talks yet with McCoy, the Eagles have engaged in discussions with veteran edge defender Trent Cole to bring him back for the 2015 season, a source tells Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ Advance Media. Cole’s $11.625MM cap number is Philadelphia’s second-largest for 2015, behind McCoy’s, making him a candidate to be released if the two sides can’t reach an agreement to reduce that figure.
  • Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com lays out the possible outcomes for Jeremy Maclin‘s contract situation with the Eagles, examining the possibility of a long-term contract, a franchise or transition tag, or the wideout hitting the open market. Philadelphia has until 3:00pm central time today to tag Maclin, if the team decides to go that route.
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