Philadelphia Eagles: Please don’t bring back LeSean McCoy

He may be the Philadelphia Eagles’ all-time leading rusher, but there’s no good reason for the Birds to bring LeSean McCoy back to Philadelphia.

When the Philadelphia Eagles (basically just Chip Kelly) traded LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills in 2015, it was instantly one of the most regrettable moves that the franchise has ever made. And so you can forgive some Eagles fans if they’re pining for some sort of course correction as McCoy is looking for a new home this season.

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But you’re dreaming if you have any illusions of McCoy rediscovering his old magic, the kind of play that led to rushing totals of 1,607 and 1,319 yards over his last two seasons in Midnight Green. That version of McCoy was 26 years old when he was unceremoniously sent packing out of town. Since then, he’s added nearly 1,000 more carries to his soon-to-be 32-year old body, and it’s truly difficult for me to believe that he can be any kind of running mate or alternate option in the Eagles’ backfield to Miles Sanders.

Maybe the McCoy of two or three years ago could have gotten the job done, splitting touches with the young standout Sanders while the Eagles only turned to the likes of Corey Clement and Boston Scott on occasion. It’s a backfield committee that would have been pretty formidable if it avoided catastrophic injuries which, let’s face it, it wouldn’t have.

I’m not going to completely discount McCoy’s competitive fire after his two-time boss Andy Reid stapled him to the bench/press box during the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Super Bowl run last season. That kind of treatment, especially at the hands of a coach who knows him so well, could provide strong motivation for a player like McCoy to show that he’s still got it. And it’s clear that he wants Philadelphia to be the place where he makes a triumphant return to relevancy, even as Father Time prepares to tackle him to the turf.

It’s been a pretty remarkable career for McCoy, one that currently has him sitting 22nd all-time in NFL rushing yardage right behind…uh…O.J. Simpson. That’s certainly Hall of Fame territory, especially if McCoy can turn in another solid campaign or two. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he lands in the top ten before everything is said and done.

But there’s no reason it has to happen in Philadelphia. As lousy as it was to trade him when they did, the Eagles have done just fine without him. And currently they’d be better off signing a player without so much mileage, like Carlos Hyde, as the recent rumors have suggested. McCoy was a great Philadelphia athlete, emphasis on was, and we all have to be realistic about what he’d be able to provide for this team going forward. Throw in the fact that his off-the-field issues have taken a large amount of the shine off of his star, and it’s a situation that the Eagles would be best off avoiding.

Best of luck to Shady in finding a new home this offseason; I just don’t want it to be the same as his old home. It’s a nod to history/sentimentality that we don’t need, although I would at least be able to wear my old McCoy jersey, which is about the only positive that would come out of it. Otherwise, hard pass.