LeSean McCoy has been dealt to the Buffalo Bills. In return for the star RB, the Philadelphia Eagles will receive stud LB Kiko Alonso. The trade took just 20 minutes for each side to agree upon the deal.
McCoy is one of the best (if not the best) running backs in the league. He is just 26 years old, although he will be turning 27 in July. He is the Eagles' all-time leading rusher.
He has drawn comparisons of Barry Sanders. This leads to the question, why trade him? Three reasons:
1. Kiko Alonso
2. Money
3. Attitude
Let's begin with the first reason. Kiko Alonso is coming off an ACL tear, but in his rookie season in 2013, he was third in the league in tackles. He also had five interceptions and was a top 10 linebacker in the league, according to PFF. Alonso played for Chip Kelly in college at Oregon. Chip obviously knows Kiko and knows his abilities. Alonso is young and has a really bright future.
The second reason is the one thing that runs throughout the NFL - money. McCoy's cap hit for the upcoming season is just under $12 million. He still has five years left on his deal in which he is owed around $40+ million. As for Alonso, he is owed about $4 million over the next four years, and only about $2 million is guaranteed. Eagles save a lot of cap.
As for the third reason, nobody is quite sure what to beileve about Chip Kelly's relationship with LeSean McCoy. There were reports that Kelly and McCoy's relationship had become "strained." Despite these reports, Kelly has said numerous times that he wants McCoy back for 2015.
However you look at this deal it is obvious the Eagles had the future in mind while the Bills did not. This is a big reason as to why w
e'll go ahead and say that the Eagles won this trade. The Bills gave up a great young player for a running back that had one of his worst seasons last year. McCoy will be a big upgrade for them for two or three years, while Alonso will be an upgrade for about eight or more. Kudos to both the Bills and the Eagles though on aggressively getting what they want.