Buffalo Bills: LeSean McCoy era comes to a disappointing end

The Buffalo Bills have reportedly released running back LeSean McCoy after four seasons with the team.

Little by little, the Buffalo Bills were starting to pave the road for LeSean McCoy’s departure and they have decided to pull the plug on him this season.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the 31-year-old was among the final roster cuts heading into the season which brings to an end a four-year tenure with the team. This might not be a big surprise but still disappointing in many ways.

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Bills management were giving a ringing endorsement for McCoy to be a starter heading into the season despite producing only 514 yards (3.2 yards per carry)  and three rushing touchdowns. That’s not the production we had become accustomed to for McCoy but there were also circumstances beyond his control including a mediocre offensive line and Josh Allen making his way through as a rookie quarterback.

Then you look at the moves the team made in the off-season bringing in veteran backs Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon plus rookie Devin Singletary was making strides. Still, it’s not the way you want to see a player like McCoy go out but that’s what running backs have been going once they turn 30.

McCoy was acquired by Buffalo in 2015 in a one-for-one swap where the Philadelphia Eagles got Kiko Alonso. At the time, the Eagles were looking to get some salary relief while the Bills needed a star on the offensive side of the ball.

In 57 games with the Bills, Shady McCoy had 6792 rushing yards and 44 touchdowns on the ground along with 2282 receiving yards and five touchdowns through the air. While those aren’t superstar numbers, it has been the only measure of consistency the team has had offensively recently.

This is a running back who reached the Pro Bowl in three of his four seasons in Buffalo and was a fan favourite among Bills Mafia. The team obviously saw the cost savings of cutting the veteran back and trying to go younger as well but this is certainly some tough news.

What are your thoughts on the Bills cutting McCoy? Do you think they should have tried to trade him earlier? What was your favourite Shady moment? Let us know in the comments below.