The Buffalo Bills are saying goodbye to Shady.
In a surprising decision to kick off NFL cut day on Saturday, the Bills are releasing six-time Pro Bowler LeSean McCoy, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Surprise cut: Bills are releasing LeSean McCoy, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019
McCoy spent the last four seasons with the Bills after starting his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was in line to make a little over $6 million in his final year under contract with the Bills.
The move comes as a mild surprise, given that McCoy is still a durable running back and made five straight Pro Bowls from 2013-17. His production dipped last year, though, when he amassed 514 yards on 161 carries last season for three touchdowns, appearing in 14 games. It was the first time he failed to reach the 600-yard plateau in his 10-year career.
Bills cutting LeSean McCoy ‘out of left field’
According to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, the Bills did not ask McCoy to take a pay cut before pulling the trigger. The move “came out of left field,” according to Florio.
One theory may be that Buffalo wants to see what it has in rookie running back Devin Singletary, the third-round pick out of Florida Atlantic who has impressed in training camp. The Bills may be turning to the youth strategy while also saving some money with a 31-year-old running back coming off his least productive season.
The Bills also signed 36-year-old running back Frank Gore this offseason, so perhaps the writing was on the wall for Shady.
Still, perhaps something changed over the last month, when GM Brandon Beane said he had no intention of cutting McCoy:
Bills G.M. Brandon Beane, just last month: "I think LeSean still can play. If not, we would have made the decision to move on."
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 31, 2019
It’s safe to assume McCoy will land on another team pretty soon. But this news surely had NFL fans waking up on Saturday morning doing a double take.
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