Bills cut veteran RB LeSean McCoy in surprising move
31-year-old odd-man out coming off his least productive NFL season
The Buffalo Bills have released veteran running back LeSean McCoy, a move general manager Brandon Beane says was a tough decision but best for the team.
Beane announced the stunning decision on a conference call Saturday hours before NFL teams set their 53-player rosters.
The 31-year-old McCoy is an 11-year veteran, whose 10,606 yards rushing rank 25th on the career list and fourth among active players. He is coming off his least productive season and proved to be the odd-man out after Buffalo restocked the position this off-season.
'I'm the guy'
Three weeks ago, McCoy expressed confidence he wasn't going anywhere.
"I've seen that," he said, referring to trade speculation. "But for the last two years, people have been saying that. If that was the case, I would've been gone."
He also dismissed questions over whether he had lost a step.
McCoy was entering the final year of a five-year contract he signed after his acquisition in a trade with Philadelphia, where he led the NFL in yards rushing in 2013.
McCoy had an inconsistent four seasons with the Bills. He struggled in his first year in finishing with 895 yards rushing. McCoy attributed that to being unfocused as a result of being traded.
He responded by topping 1,100 yards rushing in each of his next two seasons. But he struggled last year when he finished with a career-worst 514 yards rushing and 752 yards from scrimmage.