What they're saying: LeSean McCoy trade sparks national firestorm
Eagles fans are still feeling the aftershocks of one of the team's biggest deals in years: a reported trade of superstar running back LeSean McCoy, one of the team's most beloved players by fans, to the Buffalo Bills.
The deal also stoked a firestorm across local and national media. Here's a sampling of reactions:
- The Inquirer's Jeff McLane lays out all the details of the trade. Among the highlights:
The trade didn't come as a complete surprise. Those close to McCoy believed that he was on the block but that he would be involved in Kelly's attempt to move up in the draft for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Instead, the running back will end up being part of a swap for another Duck.
Rumblings that the Eagles coach will do whatever it takes to get Mariota persist, and some sources around the league believe a trade with one of the teams with a high draft pick could be on the horizon.
- Daily News columnist Paul Domowitch looks at how much cap space the Eagles have now, and says the team can take aim at signing some big-time free agents:
If they want to outbid the rest of the NFL for Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell and Patriots safety Devin McCourty, they can do it.
If they want to replace Herremans with 27-year-old Broncos free agent Orlando Franklin, they can do it. If they want to sign Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith and/or bring back Jeremy Maclin, they can do it.
If they want to sign one of the top free-agent edge-rushers such as the Steelers' Jason Worilds or Houston's Brooks Reed, they can do it. Obviously, they can't do all of it. But they certainly can fill some important needs.
- ESPN's Josina Anderson hears from "a source close to LeSean McCoy" who says McCoy, Harrisburg native, is "frustrated," in part because "he's a Pennsylvania kid. He's never played football outside of Pennsylvania - high school, college, pro."
On whether the source believes McCoy will make a trade to Buffalo difficult, in light of McCoy's initial reaction to the news:
"It'll be interesting to see how this process plays itself out because he's an interesting individual. 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 t.v. and you're playing for like the division title or that type of thing…It was unexpected. I'll tell you that much."
- It sounds like McCoy knew that he might have been on his way out of Philadelphia. That's according to LaDanian Tomlinson, who was on NFL Network Tuesday night and said he started getting an inkling a few weeks ago that something might be up. As transcribed by NJ.com's Matt Lombardo:
"I had a chance to talk to LeSean McCoy a few weeks ago, and he expressed to me [that] he did not think he was coming back to Philly next season," Tomlinson said Tuesday night. "He talked about [how] he and Chip Kelly's relationship had become a little strained, and he just did not think Philly was committed to him. He actually thought Chip kind of phased him out of the offense at times last year. He felt the writing was on the wall that they were trying to move on this offseason, and sure enough we have this trade."
- Dan McQuade of the Guardian writes that Chip Kelly seems to be channeling Sam Hinkie:
So Chip Kelly continues to tinker. But unlike Sam Hinkie, the GM of the Philadelphia 76ers' tear down-and-rebuild strategy, Kelly doesn't have the luxury of a several-year timeframe to build a winner. The NFL doesn't work that way. His offense rewrote the Eagles' record book his first year in charge, and he's now moved on from the top rusher and receiver on that team. Every coach in the NFL is always under the microscope. Kelly just increased the magnification on the one above him.
- ESPN's Phil Sheridan says trading McCoy is a sign that Chip Kelly is "ready to jump-start" the Eagles in his image:
This part was easy, if shocking. The much harder part is building a better team from what is left behind. Kelly surely has a plan for that.
After all this, the widely held belief that he covets Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota seems even more reasonable. If you're trying to win in 2015, you keep McCoy. If you're going to build around a franchise quarterback, then you're better off moving on from a running back who won't be around when that quarterback is ready to win.
- The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore says the trade defies convention, but could ultimately help the Eagles:
The only reason not to make the trade, for the Eagles, would be fear of boldness. If it doesn't work out, Kelly has certainly exposed himself to criticism in a town that knows how to dole it out. But the Eagles didn't hire Kelly to be timid. They hired Chip Kelly to be Chip Kelly, and there are not many coaches who would spice up the NFL offseason like he did Tuesday night.
- Kilgore's Post colleague Mark Maske says the news is both shocking and not shocking:
Chip Kelly is building the team that he wants with the Eagles, without much regard to what anyone else might think.
He'd better be right.
- NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal judges the winners and losers of the trade. He writes that Kiko Alonso, the linebacker coming to Philadelphia from Buffalo in the deal, is a winner:
The Bills' defense has been building something great, but the Eagles have won 10 games in both of Chip Kelly's seasons. Alonso is also joining a better organization and a better linebacker group than the one he left.
- CBSSports.com's Jared Dubin put together an extensive report card on the deal, lining up stats and a host of other factors. He pays particular attention to how Kiko Alonso will fit into the Eagles' defense alongside Mychal Kendricks:
Kendricks and Alonso should form one of the more formidable inside linebacker duos in the league, presuming Alonso returns to full health. They both have excellent speed and coverage skills to work the hook-to-curl zones, as well as the ability to read blocking schemes and fill running lanes in front of them.
From the Buffalo side of things, ESPN's Mike Rodak took a look at how the deal affects the Bills, and says "it just makes sense":
Unless McCoy gives the Bills headaches all summer about coming to Buffalo, or if he drops off a cliff after posting four 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his first six years in the league, there is little reason to fret about this trade.
Savor the moment, Bills fans, because it's not often that teams can draw up player-for-player swaps that make this much sense for both sides.
- Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan says acquiring McCoy shows the Bills want to be a big deal:
Trading for LeSean McCoy - assuming the trade goes through when the new NFL season officially gets underway next week - also reinforces the notion that the Bills are very much in win-now mode, and that Ryan expects to make a playoff run in his first year as the head man.
- Seth Walder of the New York Daily News says Bills coach Rex Ryan "has an expensive new toy":
Ryan is famous for his preferred style of offense - "ground and pound" - and must be thrilled to get such an offensive weapon. McCoy's play-making abilities should be especially useful considering the Bills have a horrendous situation at quarterback with EJ Manuel as their top signal caller. McCoy, 26, has rushed for more than 1,300 yards in three of the last four seasons.
- What about the fantasy football angle? CBSSports.com's Dave Richard has that covered:
LeSean McCoy might have had a big cap number in 2015 and (allegedly) had a bad attitude to go with a sub-standard campaign, but if Chip Kelly thought McCoy was a difference-maker for his team then he would have dealt with all of that to have that guy on the field for 300-plus carries, just as he had the past two seasons.
Obviously, he didn't value McCoy the way the Fantasy Football universe values McCoy. That means either we as football fans are overvaluing McCoy - or Kelly is undervaluing McCoy.
- David Moore of the Dallas Morning News looks at how the McCoy deal could affect another star running back in the NFC East, DeMarco Murray of the Cowboys:
One reason the Cowboys risk letting DeMarco Murray test free agency is the club believes the market for a top running back isn't as lucrative as Murray envisions.
A trade came down Tuesday that indicates the Cowboys may be right.
- As for how the deal affects the Bills' AFC East rivals, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald wonders if McCoy's arrival in Buffalo could lead new coach Rex Ryan to take a swing at snatching Darrelle Revis from the Patriots in free agency:
Revis and Ryan have a storied relationship, but a team without a quarterback has little chance to win a Super Bowl in today's NFL, and sources close to Revis have said he prefers winning to money. Yet, if Ryan can convince Revis the Bills are heading in the right direction, the McCoy trade might have been a good place to start.