In a move surprising everyone, including (maybe) former Bills running back C.J. Spiller who was told of the trade by NFLN analyst Willie McGinest while Spiller was in the NFL Network studio, the Bills reportedly have an agreement in place that will send 2013 second-round pick Kiko Alonso to Philadelphia in return for running back LeSean McCoy. McCoy leads the NFL in the number of capital letters in a name and was not thought to even be on the market before today.
The move reunites Alonso with the coach who recruited him at Oregon, Chip Kelly, and sends McCoy to a coach who loves the running game in first-year Bills coach Rex Ryan.
Adam Scheftler of ESPN broke the story earlier this evening and, though McCoy agent Drew Rosenhaus has said no deal is in stone yet, multiple news outlets are confirming the Scheftler report. Assuming this deal stands it will be hard to say who got the better end of it, at least until a few years have passed.
The Bills had a committee of backs last year who all dealt with injuries at some point during the season, rotating through Fred Jackson, Anthony Dixon and Spiller. Jackson is 34 so it’s obvious he is a back whose days were numbered anyway and Spiller has been bitten by the injury bug quite a bit. It’s easy to see why Ryan would want an every-down back like McCoy. Especially given the lack of a QB in Buffalo as a strong run game might be the only offense they can muster. If you add up all the yardage from Buffalo’s 3-headed backfield you get 1,257 yards. Last year McCoy, who had a down year for him, managed to grind out 1,319. So yes, the Bills needed him.
Kiko Alonso, on the other hand, is a young talented player that may serve the Eagles well for a decade. In 2013 he led Buffalo in tackles while adding 4 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries to his resume; all of which made him a strong Rookie of the Year Candidate and put him on the radar as one of the most talented young linebackers in the league. At the start of last season Alonso suffered a season-ending knee injury that put him on the sidelines for the 2014-2015 year, so the trade doesn’t come without a risk.
McCoy is a young player in his own right, at age 26, and should shore up the Buffalo backfield for several years. It’s easy to see why the Bills needed this trade, a little harder to understand why the Eagles did. The Philadelphia defense wasn’t exactly a shambles last season. They ranked 3rd in points allowed, 5th in yards allowed and only 9th in rushing yards allowed. Sure, Alonso is a talented young guy, but it’s not clear why the Eagles would upgrade a rising unit at the expense of an offense that’s reportedly very difficult to learn and requires a particular skillset to run efficiently. They are letting defensive end Trent Cole walk away, but it’s still hard to imagine Chip Kelly being in a such a panic over the performance of his defense that he would trade away a franchise running back for a linebacker, albeit a rising star of a linebacker. The only other factor at play is that McCoy carries a contract valued at roughly $27 million and Alonso is slated to make only $1.7 million over the next two years. The Eagles will clear up a sizeable chunk of salary cap room with this deal.
You could make an argument that both sides won this deal given the caliber of players swapped, and NFL teams value each position differently so maybe Kelly thinks he can plug-and-play any other running back, but the true winner of this trade won’t be known for years until both players have some mileage on them.
The deal becomes final on the first day of the new league year, which is Tuesday, and will be the first big signing of the new year. In a league that truly has no offseason this is one heck of a way to start it. And who knows, since Buffalo has informed C.J. Spiller he is no longer needed perhaps we will see him wearing Eagle green next year. Won’t that be interesting.