The Philadelphia Eagles shocked the league with the trade of LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles could be next if the team goes after Marcus Mariota and this comes as players like CJ Spiller, Reggie Bush, Shane Vereen and Ben Tate are potential FA targets, while Michael Crabtree, Cecil Shorts or Torrey Smith could be potential options to help replace Jeremy Maclin, who is reportedly signing with the Chiefs.
The Eagles have had interest in Mariota and that could lead to a Nick Foles trade down the line, according to NJ.com. Yahoo Sports also reports that the team is interested in signing Spiller, as he will not be returning to the Bills after LeSean McCoy was acquired.
The trade can't become official until this week and McCoy reportedly signed a new five year contract with the Bills. Chip Kelly gained control over team personnel this offseason and he clearly is using it, trading one of the top running backs in the league for his former linebacker from Oregon. The Eagles now have Chris Polk and Darren Sproles as their main running backs after McCoy and that means Kelly likely will bring in a veteran for depth.
The Eagles have a solid class of running backs to look at on the free agent market, with players like Spiller, Shane Vereen, Reggie Bush, DeAngelo Williams and Darren McFadden available. Spiller could be a potential option for the Eagles, as he now is likely not expected to sign back with the Bills after the McCoy trade. Spiller missed most of the season with an injury and could come at a cheap rate for the Eagles. Michael Crabtree could be a potential option with Maclin reportedly signing with the Chiefs.
Spiller is skilled out of the backfield and that is the type of running back Kelly likes to use in his specialized offensive scheme. According to Mike Rodak on Twitter, the Bills have informed Spiller that they will not sign him back following the McCoy deal. Apart from the Eagles, the New York Jets could be a potential fit for Spiller, as his former coach Chan Gailey is the new offensive coordinator for the team. Spiller had his best season under Gailey, rushing for 1244 yards and making a career high 43 receptions for 459 yards while scoring eight touchdowns.
The move with McCoy will take away his near $12 million cap number and that likely was the nexus of the trade. The Eagles may now have the space to try and sign back Jeremy Maclin and this could signal that Kelly sees him as more valuable to the offense than McCoy. From the Bills perspective, they are coming back with a top defense that Alonso did not contribute to last season after dealing with an injury and have the cap space to take on McCoy while still signing other players.
Maclin is coming off of a career season with 85 catches for 1318 yards and 10 touchdowns and so far negotiations between him and the Eagles had been slow. The Eagles did not use the franchise tag on Maclin and that meant he would hit open free agency as one of the top receivers on the market. Maclin now will sign with the Chiefs and he is another top player out from Kelly's roster.
Mike Freeman and other NFL reporters have written about rumblings that the Eagles wanted McCoy to restructure his contract or take a pay cut and clearly that was one reason why the trade happened. The move with McCoy shows that Kelly wields some power in Philadelphia and this marks the second straight season he has dispatched a franchise star, with DeSean Jackson getting cut last year.
