By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
LeSean McCoy is dinged up with a hamstring injury. The Buffalo Bills are going with a youth movement in most positions on offense as they head toward the final three games of the 2018 season.
So with undrafted rookie running back Keith Ford being pulled up to the team’s 53-man roster this week, could he cut into McCoy’s snaps? Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said on Friday that it’s possible.
“With LeSean, at the end of the day, it’s going to be about his availability,” McDermott said. “But we certainly take that into consideration of wanting to see some more of these younger players, Keith Ford being one of them. I thought he had a good practice yesterday so we’re going to weigh all of that as we make our decisions for game time.”
So far this week, McCoy didn’t practice on Wednesday but did on Thursday in a limited basis. Per McDermott, McCoy will practice on Friday and will do a little more work during the session than he did on Thursday. So it’s safe to say his health is improving.
A storyline to watch in Sunday’s Week 15 meeting with the Detroit Lions will certainly be whether or not McCoy loses touches to the likes for Ford, who’d be making his NFL debut after spending the entire season on Buffalo’s practice squad. That is, if McCoy plays.
At the end of training camp, Ford could’ve left the Bills (4-9) for another team’s practice squad for a better opportunity. Instead, he stuck around and accepted Buffalo’s offer. He told reporters this week that it was a tough choice to have to sit around in an uncertain situation, but at the end of the day, he called it the right one for him.
“I felt like I knew the scheme, but it was more the coaching and Skip (running backs coach Kelly Skipper) really wanted me here and I felt like this was the best opportunity here. It took a lot of heart and thinking. My dad told me, Keith, this is your decision and I said, ‘you know what? I’m going to stay here and I think it was a good choice for me,” Ford said.
But the 30-year-old McCoy also spoke this week. On the year, he only has 479 rushing yards and is averaging 3.3 yards per carry. Not the numbers he wants.
McCoy said on Thursday that because of that, he still wants his touches, even in a lost season.
“I could use some more yards so any more opportunities… I can do that, I’d love to do that,” McCoy said.
Running back snap counts will certainly be looked at come Monday morning following the Bills – Lions matchup.