It's no secret that LeSean McCoy wasn't overly thrilled with some of the Bills' recent moves, including the simultaneous deals that sent WR Sammy Watkins and CB Ronald Darby out of Buffalo and brought McCoy's former Eagles teammate Jordan Matthews back in return.
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And when that happens, the natural next step for sports fans is to speculate about whether or not the player in question will be traded – not to mention where he could be headed.
Given the Eagles preseason struggles at running back, plus their sudden increase in salary cap space (not to mention his familiarity with the team, the one he grew up rooting for), they seemed like a possible fit should the Bills decide to move on from the 29-year-old running back.
More and more, however, it's looking like the rumors that Shady could be on the move are just that – rumors.
McCoy's not the only one who isn't buying the rumors. Far from it.
Here's a look at what they're saying, starting with why a look at why Shady won't be back in midnight green anytime soon.
Makes sense that fans want McCoy
Justin Grasso | Inside The Iggles
Adding McCoy would remove one of their biggest question marks entering the season, but there's a good chance Eagles fans are overvaluing Shady due to their sentimental attachments.
The idea of McCoy headlining the Eagles backfield sounds almost too good to be true. You know what they say though. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Since Chip Kelly released some of the fan base’s most beloved players, fans have been constantly wishing for reunions. Just this off-season fans were hoping that the Eagles would sign former receiver DeSean Jackson through free agency.
The wishing didn’t stop there. When former Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin was released from the Kansas City Chiefs, some of the fan base was hoping the Eagles would sign him. Although there were rumors that it almost happened, it didn’t. [insidetheiggles.com]
But it probably wouldn’t be worth it
Andrew Kulp | The700Level
While it might be fun to think about, it probably isn't the smartest move for the Birds. It would be an immediate upgrade, but given his age and the cost, it's likely a short-term upgrade. And the Eagles shouldn't be thinking short-term fixes right now.
Would the Eagles be as quick to welcome McCoy back? He’s 29 years old, and though he’s shown no signs of slowing down, decline is right around the corner. And what do the Eagles have to trade for an aging running back? The club has already dealt its second- and third-round picks in 2018 in the Wentz and Darby deals, respectively. Will they dip into their stash of 2019 choices, or send a No. 1?
McCoy won’t come cheap, either. The Bills would have to eat nearly $8 million in bonus money in a trade, for starters. And if they were able to swing a third-round pick for Darby with two years left on his contract, and a second for Watkins with one year left, what can they leverage for one of the top five backs in the NFL with three years remaining on his deal? For all we know, it might take a No. 1.
The Bills might be rebuilding, but they certainly aren’t giving these guys away. [csnphilly.com]
Buffalo isn’t interested in trading him anyway
Mike Florio | ProFootballTalk
While Shady might've been quick to dismiss this as just rumors, he also correctly pointed out that he doesn't actually have control over whether or not he's traded. But that doesn't seem like it's going to be a problem, as the Bills reportedly have no interest in trading him.
A tweet appeared almost nonchalantly on Tuesday suggesting that the Bills are entertaining trade offers for running back LeSean McCoy. Since: (1) that would be fairly big news; and (2) it otherwise hadn’t been mentioned anywhere, it made sense to poke around a little about whether it’s true.
Per multiple sources, it’s not.
As one source with knowledge of the situation explained it to PFT, the Bills haven’t entertained traded offers for McCoy, the Bills currently aren’t entertaining offers for McCoy, and the Bills won’t be entertaining trade offers for McCoy. [profootballtalk.nbcsports.com]
And now, onto some other notes...
’They don’t count’
Aaron Kasinitz | PennLive.com
Torrey Smith has yet to catch a patch – from any quarterback, not just Carson Wentz – through two preseason games. Is there reason for worry?
"I'm not going to lie to you: This is my seventh preseason, and at the end of the day, it's definitely less than 15 [total catches]," Smith said. "They don't count. Honestly, I can go out there on Thursday, and they don't have to throw me the ball, and I will not be mad."
So far, the Eagles haven't thrown Smith the ball. Quarterback Carson Wentz racked up 13 pass attempts in two preseason games, but none have gone to the veteran newcomer with a Pro Bowl nod and a Super Bowl ring on resume.
Smith insisted he wasn't concerned about his connection with Wentz, and the quarterback shrugged off a question about Smith's lack of targets. [pennlive.com]
Keep your head up … or it’ll cost you
Andrew Porter | CBSPhilly
Eagles QB coach John DeFilippo was on The Howard Eskin Podcast recently and talked about his way to make sure his quarterbacks aren’t seen sulking around during games or on the sidelines. His secret? He goes after their wallets.
“First off, you’re one hundred percent right — a thousand percent right,” DeFilippo said to Eskin, who suggested the importance of body language.
“Second of all, we have body language fines in our room. We call each other out for body language. And those, if they see me on the tape, they call me out for body language. It’s something that’s talked about, it’s something that’s coached, it’s something that’s brought up all of the time. You are always being watched as the quarterback. We always bring that up and we call each other out for body language.”
How would DeFilippo classify bad body language?
“Sulking, taking your chin strap and pulling it, chasing after an interception — if you throw an interception — and putting your head down. Throwing a ball down after a sack.” [philadelphia.cbslocal.com]
’Elite’ offensive line?
Turron Davenport | The Eagles Wire
Dolphins DT Ndamukong Suh gave a glowing review of the Birds offensive line on Monday. No word on how the departure of Matt Tobin impacts his assessment.
Suh and the Miami defensive line got the best of the Eagles offensive line during practice on Monday. The All-Pro defensive tackle still had some good things to say about Philadelphia’s highly regarded offensive line.
“I think we did a good job. A lot of competition out there. Obviously being able to go against an elite offensive line is great for our defensive line, especially our young guys and myself,” Suh said after practice on Monday. “We can get a good gauge for where we are at right now. It’s still very early in the season, and we’ve still got a lot of work to get done. It was an overall good practice.” [theeagleswire.usatoday.com]
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