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The Buffalo Bills unsurprisingly decided to release LeSean McCoy on Saturday morning. Prior to his release, though, Buffalo decided not to ask McCoy to take a pay cut in an attempt to keep the veteran running back, according to Pro Football Talk.
This season, McCoy was entering the final year of his contract where he was due to earn $6.175 million with the Bills. After releasing the elusive running back, McCoy will still count for $2.875 million in cap space this season.
Earlier in the offseason, general manager Brandon Beane reiterated that the team plans on utilizing McCoy as their starting running back.
Since then, Buffalo has continued to give rookie Devin Singletary first-team reps in practice. Therefore, despite what Beane said, the writing was on the wall for McCoy's release from the team.
Even without McCoy, Buffalo still has veteran Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon in their backfield. With that being said, the Bills viewed McCoy as expendable with the number of capable rushers in their offense—who are cheaper.
It remains to be seen if the team attempted to trade McCoy to another team before releasing him. Regardless, not many teams would've wanted to make a move for the 31-year old running back with the salary he was owed in 2019.
Last season, McCoy had the worst year of his career with just 514 yards on 161 carries and three touchdowns. Furthermore, his 3.2 yards per rushing attempt in 2018 was the lowest in his career.
Despite his noticeable decline, there will undoubtedly be multiple teams clamoring for the former Philadelphia Eagles running back.