When the Buffalo Bills chose not to trade LeSean McCoy at the deadline earlier this week, that seemed like a good sign that they intend to keep him at least through the end of his contract in 2019. Bills general manager Brandon Beane has now confirmed the team plans to do just that.
In an interview with Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News, Beane was asked if the decision to not trade McCoy means he will be with the team next season.
“Definitely. That’s the whole key. LeSean is still a very good player in this league,” Beane said. “Our offense is not where we want it, but LeSean is still playing well. He’s a talented player. We like what he brings, to the point we’ll have him back in 2019. He’ll definitely be a part of that.”
McCoy’s base salary for 2019 is currently just north of $6 million, which isn’t all that unreasonable when you consider that guys like Todd Gurley and David Johnson are making roughly double that. However, McCoy will turn 31 this summer.
As ESPN’s Mike Rodak notes, McCoy ranks 31st among qualifying NFL running backs with just 3.43 yards per carry this season. He also admitted after Monday night’s loss to the New England Patriots that he is “not playing well at all right now,” which is the opposite of what Beane said.
The off-field drama McCoy found himself wrapped up in recently appears to be no threat to his playing status, but it’s somewhat surprising that a rebuilding team would rather stick with him than draft a running back to develop alongside Josh Allen. Of course, there’s still a chance Beane could change his mind over the offseason.
