Philadelphia Eagles: LeSean McCoy doesn’t deserve to go out like this

LeSean McCoy should go down swinging with the Philadelphia Eagles.

When LeSean McCoy signed a one-year contract worth just over the veteran minimum with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it felt like the perfect opportunity for the storied rusher to finish out his career on top.

Sure, McCoy finally won his first Super Bowl two years after the team drafted him, but the ex-Philadelphia Eagles all-time leading rusher did so standing on the sidelines with Andy Reid for the entire 60-minute outing. While some may view this win – the “missing piece” to a Hall of Fame career –  as a perfect opportunity to ride off into the sunset and focus on an ever-expanding career in real estate, McCoy took things in a different direction, making clear his desire to join the 12,000 rushing yards club; a club that currently only features 16 other players.

And in Tampa Bay, there was quite a chance to go for broke with a collection of players specifically assembled ‘The Expendables‘-style for one specific goal: Win a championship.

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Sure, the team already had a starting running back in 2018 second-round pick Ronald Jones II and selected the potential third-down back in Ke’Shawn Vaughn in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but surely McCoy had to have some sort of guaranteed playing time when he signed with Tampa Bay over other interested suitors, right?

Unfortunately, that no longer appears to be the case.

It all started when former fourth-overall pick Leonard Fournette was outright released by the Jacksonville Jaguars after a trade failed to materialize. Though Fournette isn’t exactly known as a pass-catcher, he rapidly rose up the Buccaneers’ depth chart and officially supplanted McCoy as the team’s third-down, change of pace back – with Fournette logging a team-high 40 snaps to McCoy’s zero in Week 7.

While this decision isn’t a death sentence for McCoy’s journey to 12k, as if the Buccaneers were really done with the 32-year-old rusher they would have released him outright to make room for Antonio Brown, it’s really unfortunate to see a former hometown(ish) hero wasting away the waning days of his football career on the bench instead of mucking it up on the field where he belongs.

… you know, I’m sure some third party could swoop in and take McCoy off the Bucs’ hands, probably for a conditional Day 3 pick swap, no less.

Now I know what you are thinking, “If the Eagles didn’t add a running back before Week 7 with Miles Sanders out, why would they do so now?”

Hm… good question. Well, a week ago, McCoy was still playing an average of 14.2 offensive snaps-per-game, with his Week 6 mark versus the Packers serving as his second-highest snap count of the season (19). Fast forward to Week 7, and the Buccaneers appear to have converted to a two-back offense, with the overall available number of touches presumably on the way down with AB’s arrival looming just over the horizon.

Assuming Vaugh continues on as Bruce Arians’ top option coming off the bench – a concept that is plausible considering he averaged more snaps than McCoy from Weeks 4-6 – the Buccaneers may now be fully ready to let Shady walk for next to nothing – assuming, of course, he goes to a good home.

This, my friends, is where Howie Roseman could swoop in and finally swing a deal.

For all of the hate McCoy has gotten over the last few years for being ‘over the hill’, he’s still a productive running back capable of pulling a few vintage runs per season; they just come a bit fewer and further between with each passing year. McCoy is also still a more than capable pass catcher and would probably rank number one on the Eagles’ roster in pass blocking.

And you know what? Some things just feel right.

As you may or may not know, Roseman has attempted to bring McCoy back to the City of Brotherly Love a number of times since returning to power in 2016. He tried to trade for McCoy from the Bills on two separate occasions, discussed signing the Harrisburg native in 2019, and even were named a finalist for his services in 2020 by NFL Network reporter James Palmer as late as July. While that could all be conjecture or just ‘kicking the tires’ on an old friend, it’s more than obvious that the Eagles still view McCoy as a fit in Doug Pederson’s scheme and would like nothing more than to bring him back for one final fun with the team.

Even now, at the tender age of 32, McCoy would immediately step in as the Eagles’ second-best back above Justin Huntley, Corey Clement, and Boston Scott, and could finally give the team a second runner worthy of double-digit snaps per game regardless of Miles Sanders’ status. Heck, there’s even a world where McCoy and Sanders could be on the field together – dusting off the old ‘pony’ formation the Birds wanted to use with Donnell Pumphrey and Darren Sproles back in the day but were not quite able to use consistently.

At this point, should the Eagles really be all that picky with how they upgrade their team? Especially if it has no impact on their 2021 salary cap situation?

Whether LeSean McCoy is cut, kept, or traded away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the next few weeks, it’s clear he won’t be joining the 12k club any time soon if he’s trapped on the bench with no end in sight. If, with their running back position now more defined, the Bucs no longer view McCoy as a piece worth retaining, a reunion with the Philadelphia Eagles could be the final chance for the Harrisburg native to actually play in what may go down as his final season in the NFL. And hey, could you imagine any other move centered around a seventh-round pick generating as much of a pop as a Shady reunion in South Philly? Yeah, me neither.