LeSean McCoy for Kiko Alonso: Staff Analyzes Eagles-Bills Trade

The NFL, namely the city of Philadelphia, went into shock when the news broke of the Eagles trading their All-Time rusher to the Buffalo Bills for the 2013 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Kiko Alonso. This move seemingly came out of nowhere, and sent some of our staff writers scrambling to find the full meaning and to justify this move. Each member has given their opinion on the trade.

Erik:  I look at this from a couple of view points. In the short term the Bills likely got the better end of the deal because McCoy is a Pro Bowl back who is going to an offense that will know exactly how to use him. However, the long-term advantage belongs to Philadelphia. They free up cap space to bring in free agents at their leisure and also gain a talented, young linebacker who fits their system despite the knee concerns. Like with any trade time will tell who came out on top. Still, based on early projections the Bills should benefit this season while the Eagles will come out ahead down the road.

Eagles

Tyler:

Eagles won this trade hands down. Chip Kelly wasn’t a huge fan of McCoy’s running style. They swap a 27 year old McCoy who has a large contract for a potential cornerstone player on defense who is still on his rookie deal. This trade brings the Eagles a boat load of cap space to spend on free agents. This should be an interesting offseason for fellow Eagles fans

Charles:  I think both teams came out pretty evenly in this deal. The Bills get one of the top running backs in the league, which was a huge position of need for them. The Eagles desperately needed to upgrade their pass defense and that’s Alonso’s strong suit. However, there is some “buyer beware” on both sides of the deal. Alonso now has two ACL tears in his career (one at Oregon in his left knee, and one in Buffalo in his right knee). Knee problems have derailed careers before and that’s a situation the Eagles should be aware of. On McCoy’s end, he has 1,741 total touches in his career which is dangerously close to the 2,100 touch benchmark that seems to be the breaking point on a bevy of running back’s careers. There is some concern to be had one both sides of the deal, but overall it was a win for both squads.

Dec 22, 2013; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills middle linebacker Kiko Alonso (50) against the Miami Dolphins at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Buffalo beats Miami 19 to 0. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Joe: I think both teams made out well here. Obviously, Philadelphia knew what they were doing — the Bills, however could seriously benefit if Shady McCoy is the guy we all know he can be. The biggest part of this deal might just be the Eagles’ salary cap gain. It’s being reported that they saved approximately $10 million in space. If that’s true. Count them as the early winner.

Geoff: I think this trade needs to be viewed in two different parts: the short term and the long term. I think that the Bills will look like the clear winners in the first year or two because LeSean McCoy should be able to produce very solid numbers in Buffalo. After the first two years, however, I believe that people will begin to change their opinion of the trade, dubbing the Eagles as the winners of this deal. I believe Kiko Alonso will make a full recovery from his injury and return to being the top five middle linebacker he was before his injury. Also linebackers, historically, can play at a high level for many years, where as running backs tend to decrease quickly. Overall, I think the Eagles may have been able to get a bit more, but it is a good trade for both teams.

George: As an Eagles fan, I immediately disliked this deal entirely. A team operating on a running scheme removing one of the best, if not the best, at the running back position just sounds awful off the bat. McCoy is the Eagles franchise rushing and was a fan favorite since taking over for Brian Westbrook. And what did they get back in return? A defensive rookie of the year with not just one, but two career ACL injuries who missed all of this past season. Not even a draft pick to help the team make up for removing four starters within the past week.

Oct 5, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly on the sidelines against the St. Louis Rams during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports

At the same time, McCoy is reaching the age where running backs start to decrease. He is still a very productive running back, and Rex Ryan will be happy with him. Chip Kelly isn’t thinking about two years into the future, he’s thinking about ten years into the future. Building a young defense around Alonso, Fletcher Cox and Mychal Kendricks would not be the worst thing in the world. This is also one of the top running back classes we have seen in a while. Chip can take a guy like Duke Johnson or Jay Ajayi in the second round and have them learn under Darren Sproles. Will either of them produce like LeSean? Probably not. The Eagles are also big players for Mariota, which means they would have to give up, possibly, multiple picks in this year’s draft. Losing the ability to collect young talent after you clean house doesn’t work. This isn’t Madden where you can offer every top free agent market value. But that’s the plan Chip seems to be running with, and I pray that it somehow works.

Overall, this move will hurt the Eagles in the immediate future. Look at what happened when they cut Desean Jackson. It completely eliminated a section in their offensive playbook. Chip got what he felt was the best value for Lesean, while he was still around his peak. Ask me in three years what I think about this trade.

Sayre: This is my knee jerk reaction — I can see positive for both teams but the Eagles, specifically Chip Kelly, are being a bit foolish. Kelly has completely eliminated ‘star power’ from Philadelphia’s roster including the release of Trent Cole, and getting rid of LeSean McCoy is a head-scratching move to say the least.

Now, the Eagles have plenty of cap space to do whatever they want, and they’re expected to do just that, but they traded their most explosive offensive playmaker for a guy coming off of major re-constructive knee surgery, and now they have plenty of holes to fill while seemingly planning on trading the farm for Marcus Mariota.

There are plenty of hypotheticals here, but the Bills just inherited one of the most explosive playmakers in the NFL and they have the cap space to absorb his hefty contract.

Looking at this trade initially, the Bills win it in a landslide. Chip Kelly better hope his Philadelphia Ducks are all their quacked up to be.

ZING. ZONG. Drops mic.

What do you think of this trade? Leave your comments below or tweet us @NFLMocks and let us know!