The Buffalo Bills have reportedly acquired running back LeSean McCoy from the Philadelphia Eagles in a trade for linebacker Kiko Alonso, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday and the trade is in place and cannot be finalized until next week.
The Eagles have not confirmed the trade and McCoy's representative Drew Rosenhaus said that the team has not made a deal "at this time" and that nothing is "finalized". According to Adam Schefter and other media reports, the deal is straight up for Alonso and McCoy, but could include draft picks as part of the package. A deal cannot be made until next Tuesday when the league year begins and it comes as the Eagles reportedly have been looking for McCoy to take a pay cut or a restructure.
Alonso previously played for Kelly at Oregon and while he had an ACL injury last year, he previously led the Bills with 159 tackles as a rookie. Money likely was an issue for the Eagles, as McCoy is making over $10 million this season in salary and has a cap hit of $11.95, while Alonso is making just $745,946 next year. The fact that Alonso went to Oregon will only fuel speculation that Kelly will look to trade up for Marcus Mariota, as he also coached the quarterback for the Ducks.
If Kelly feels comfortable trading McCoy, he likely would not hesitate to trade Nick Foles and that could mean more big moves are on the way. Kelly took over as decision maker for the team roster this offseason and he is already putting his stamp on it. The Eagles also let go of Cary Williams and Trent Cole and that could clear enough cap space for the team to sign back Jeremy Maclin in free agency.
Maclin and the team have not come to an agreement this offseason and the team did not put the franchise tag on him. Maclin could be targeted by a number of teams on the market and the Eagles now may have enough money to get a long term deal done while also signing other free agents. McCoy has been one of the most productive players in football over the last six seasons, scoring over 40 touchdowns in that time.
This marks the second year that the Eagles have parted ways with a franchise star, as Kelly released DeSean Jackson last offseason. Phil Sheridan at ESPN.com hinted at a possible move with McCoy earlier in the season, writing that Kelly does not value the running back position like other coaches. While that didn't mean Kelly doesn't see it as important, Sheridan wrote that Kelly feels he can find quality players at the position at a cheaper price.
