By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
LeSean McCoy will be 31 next season and he’s not just coming off of his worst season in a Bills uniform, he’s coming off the worst season of his career.
McCoy average 3.2 yards per career last season and some wonder whether or not he’ll be on the team’s final 53-man roster with the additions the team made this offseason to this position, such as rookie Devin Singletary and veteran Frank Gore. CBS Sports analyst Ryan Wilson recently said he believes the answer is no, McCoy won’t be.
Wilson proclaimed on the Pick Six NFL Podcast that McCoy is not going to have a bounce-back season for the Bills. Upon finding out the Bills would save $6.4 million against the cap next season if McCoy was released, Wilson said “oh, well yeah, he’s gone.”
“There’s no reason to keep Shady around, he’s not the player he once was,” Wilson added.
Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane recently said he believes McCoy will have better 2019 season. But that doesn’t mean McCoy won’t have to prove he’s worthy of a roster spot over younger options the Bills have.
But to consider McCoy simply done is a bit short-sighted. Last season the Bills offensive line was ranked the second-worst run blocking unit by Pro Football Focus. Shady will need help.
And while the Bills will save room in 2019 by releasing McCoy, they can just instead let his contract ride out after the season and he’ll be completely off the cap in 2020. It’s likely a stronger bet that McCoy is on the final roster, as opposed to off of it, the way things currently sit for the Bills.
Plus, McCoy isn’t worried about Gore. The two are publicly discussed their friendship for years and Shady lobbied for Buffalo to sign Gore for two seasons. Gore wasn’t signed to replace McCoy, he was signed to complement him.