This one might be of interest to Eagles’ fans.
Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com recently wrote a story in which he listed 30 AFC players that could be released by their teams. While the story was strictly Rosenthal’s opinion, it did contain one surprising name — former Eagle and current Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy.
Why McCoy?
McCoy is a very awkward fit in new coordinator Rick Dennison’s one-cut running attack. The Bills could decide to risk letting McCoy go a year too early rather than hold on to him a year too long. If the team designated McCoy a post-June 1 cut, they get $6.25 million in cap room and — more importantly — save $6 million in cash to spend elsewhere. The Bills have a number of high-priced players who may no longer work with the new coaching staff. Tight end Charles Clay is paid like a superstar for role-player production, although his contract makes him difficult to cut. Defensive end Jerry Hughes and defensive tackle Kyle Williams are also questionable fits with new coach Sean McDermott. GM Doug Whaley may be loath to blow this team up because of the dead money involved, but there’s a case to be made to start clearing the decks.
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McCoy is coming off of a season in which he finished with 1,267 yards and 13 touchdowns, one of the best seasons from any running back in the league in 2016.
If he is released, could the Eagles show interest?
On one hand, McCoy coming back to the Eagles wouldn’t fit in their plan of signing and building around younger players. McCoy is 28-years old and has 1,898 carries in his career.
After a stellar 2016 season, however, it is fair to say McCoy is not yet on the downswing of his career.
The Eagles have a need at running back, as they will likely move on from Ryan Mathews this offseason, and Darren Sproles could be on his way out as well. Even if Sproles is back, the Eagles can’t use him as their feature back. Second-year player Wendell Smallwood didn’t show enough last season that the team should be confident in him going forward as the top back.
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Off the field, the Eagles might want a reunion with McCoy.
While plenty of speculation has centered around receiver DeSean Jackson coming back this offseason, it is McCoy that was greeted back to Philadelphia with a hug by owner Jeffery Lurie when he returned as a member of the Bills two seasons ago.
Also, unlike Jackson, McCoy is one of the best players in team history, and is the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. McCoy finishing his career in Philadelphia would likely mean much more to Lure than having Jackson come back.
At this point it is all just a hypothetical, but if the Bills do decide to move on from McCoy, it would not be surprising at all to see the Eagles show serious interest in bringing him back to Philadelphia.
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Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.
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