The Buffalo Bills are now in full-scale rebuild mode after trading No. 1 receiver Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the summer. That was brought to a whole new level when the recently signed Anquan Boldin abruptly announced his retirement.
With a struggling quarterback under center and no real chance to compete in the AFC East, speculation has come up that Buffalo might very well look to trade Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy.
https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/900030867501965313
Earlier in the week, the Bills themselves pushed back against a report that McCoy was on the block. Now, in speaking to the media, the running back himself is indicating that this is exactly what the Bills’ brass has told him.
#Bills RB LeSean McCoy on trade rumors: "I talked to [the Bills] and said that that’s not on the radar, and that’s not in their plans." pic.twitter.com/5wFPWD9qN0
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 24, 2017
“I talked to (the Bills) and said that that’s not on the radar, and that’s not in their plans,” McCoy said, via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW in Buffalo.
That’s all fine and dandy. It’s also unlikely to be 100 percent the truth.
Buffalo’s front office philosophy has changed this year. The team acquired a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft from the Kansas City Chiefs in the deal that helped the latter land quarterback Patrick Mahomes in April’s draft.
In trading Watkins to Los Angeles and moving Ronald Darby to the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo also picked up an additional second and third-round pick in next year’s draft.
By moving someone of McCoy’s ilk, the Bills could conceivably add to their stockpile of picks. And in a season where the team won’t be contending for a playoff spot, that might might the most sense.
It will be interesting to see what happens between now and the start of the regular season. But we would not be shocked to see Shady moved.