Report: Star Running Back McCoy 'Frustrated' By Trade To Buffalo
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Not so fast there, Rex.
The Buffalo Bills made a bold move Tuesday night when they agreed to a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for star running back LeSean McCoy. The deal sent shock waves throughout the NFL and touched off celebrations in Western New York.
The move appears to be just what new head coach Rex Ryan would need to be successful considering his penchant for running the football, something his teams did very well during his six years with the Jets.
However, the good vibrations in Orchard Park, N.Y., were a bit tempered Wednesday when an ESPN report came out saying that McCoy is "frustrated" by trade, which won't become official until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the first day of the new NFL season.
A source hinted to ESPN that McCoy, who has 6,792 yards and 4.6-per-carry average in six pro seasons, could hold out.
McCoy "is not going to make it easy, that's for sure," the source said.
"It'll be interesting to see how this process plays itself out because he's an interesting individual," ESPN's source added. "In your mind, when you think of Buffalo you think of cold and losing games. It's not like it's the Philadelphia market where you're always on (TV) and you're playing for like the division title or that type of thing."
The Eagles appear to be in a bit of transitional phase right now as they are rumored to be interested in moving way up in the draft, perhaps with their eyes on Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, who played for current Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly at Oregon. The decision to move McCoy, who amassed 626 carries, 80 receptions and 3,620 all-purpose yards over the last two seasons, didn't surprise a lot of insiders as it was reported the 26-year-old running back would have been released had the Eagles not found a trading partner.
The deal itself came together quite quickly, with the Bills reportedly needing just 20 minutes to agree to the trade, which sent linebacker -- and former Oregon standout -- Kiko Alonso to Philadelphia.
If McCoy is indeed considering not showing up, it's a safe bet Ryan will do his best to convince him otherwise, for it would likely be difficult for McCoy to get the $10.25 million he is due to receive in 2015 on the open market.
With the exclusive window for negotiations with free agents set to begin Saturday, it will be interesting to see how Ryan handles the situation, potentially his first crisis since signing a five-year contract back in January to be the Bills' head coach.
"He's a Pennsylvania kid," ESPN's source said of McCoy. "He's never played football outside of Pennsylvania — high school, college, pro. So of course he's not happy. Sounds like it's pretty final to me unless LeSean is refusing to go to Buffalo."
Regardless if the trade goes through, it appears C.J. Spiller's tenure in Buffalo is over. As news of the Eagles-Bills trade broke on Tuesday night, the veteran running back said he was told he would not be re-signed.
The Jets are believed to be one of several teams to have interest in Spiller.
