Eagles Trade McCoy, Bills Trade Alonso: Grades for Both Teams
In an unforeseen turn of events, the Buffalo Bills have traded star linebacker Kiko Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles for one of the top running backs in the league, LeSean McCoy. Adam Schefter reported the Eagles trade on Tuesday night.
Filed to ESPN: Bills have notified LB Kiko Alonso he is going to be traded to Philadelphia for RB LeSean McCoy. Trade official next week.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2015
Alonso missed the 2014 season with a torn ACL he suffered while working out during the summer, so he really only has one season of NFL experience under his belt, however he was stellar his rookie season and gained a reputation as one of the better linebackers in the NFL.
McCoy struggled at times over this past season, but was still able to churn out 1,319 yards and 5 touchdowns in Chip Kelly’s spread attack.
This deal makes sense for both sides. Alonso was a poor fit in Rex Ryan’s 3-4 defense, while the Eagles desperately need to upgrade their pass defense, which is Alonso’s strong suit.
Buffalo also needed to shore up it’s running back position as C.J. Spiller is a free agent who has had a lengthy injury history throughout his career in Buffalo while the next man up, Fred Jackson, just turned 34 years old and is on the back end of his career.
Chip Kelly gets to reunite with his former Oregon linebacker, and Rex Ryan gets a star running back to help take some of the pressure off of E.J. Manuel (assuming he’s the starting quarterback next season.)
It’s rare to see star players get swapped straight up like this (hasn’t happened since the Champ Bailey-Clinton Portis trade in 2004), so hopefully it works out for both sides.
What a wild beginning to the 2015 Free Agency period.
Grades for the trade
Buffalo Bills – They gave up a player who missed the entire 2014 season for an established, star running back in the league; also a position of high need for them. McCoy will only be 27 by the time the 2015 season rolls around so he has plenty of gas left in the tank. Grade: A
Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles had to upgrade their pass defense, but it seems a little odd they would trade McCoy for a player that hasn’t seen the field since his rookie year. It’ll be interesting to see what the Eagles do in free agency and the draft to try and replicate McCoy’s production for the upcoming season. However, they got a potentially star player at a position of need and that can’t be ignored. Grade: B