REACTION: Bills Trade Kiko Alonso for Shady McCoy

By Steve

The Bills traded 3rd year linebacker Kiko Alonso straight up for running back Lesean McCoy. On paper it is a meaningless position for a meaningless. But in reality it is very interesting.

There are a few pros and cons to this trade so lets break it down from the Bills perspective:

Naturally Im starting with the cons.

1. Shady is a malcontent. He is a weird dude and (like every player ever) is pissed about being traded to the Bills.  There are already rumors he wont report or will want a contract extention. IF ANYTHING THE BILLS WILL WANT A RESTRUCTURE.

2. Shady has a cap hit of $10 mil this year ($7.2 in 2016 and $7.9 in 2017). Any team paying this much to a running back is obsurd. It was a clear salary dump by the Eagles.

3. McCoy is on the wrong side of 26. Statistically, running backs begin to fall off a cliff after 26. Not to mention he only had 5 TDs last year and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. Ouch.

4. Chip Kelly is more successful and smarter than anyone currently employed by the Bills. Who do you give the benefit of the doubt to... Chip or Doug Whaley, Russ Brandon and Rex Ryan. Really?

5. Kiko Alonso is young, cheap, had a great rookie season and was a fan favorite. Yes he is replaceable but he was a play maker at LB right away which is not easy.

Okokok lets look at the Pros

1. Shady is a playmaker. He is one of the more dynamic players in the NFL. He is confident, shifty and explosive. And he doesnt have asshat loser coaches Marrone and Hackett to bring him down.

2. The Bills wont overdraft a RB in the draft this year. Running backs are a dime a dozen and drafting one in the 2nd round was my nightmare.

3. It fills a "need". Lol just kidding why did the Bills use a 4th round draft pick on Bryce Brown last year?

4. The Bills can easily replace Kiko Alonso who allegedly wanted out of Buffalo any way. The Bills had a great defense last year without the twice ACL torn ILB and dont have to worry about those rickity knees any longer. What are they really losing out on?

Bottom line is this. If Shady is ready to play here then it will be a good-ish trade. The money is way too much but the talent is there. The Bills had cap space and needed a running back with a glut of talent at LB. Just dont piss Shady off.