Free agency for the 2015 NFL season does not begin until March 10, but some teams are already making moves that will have massive repercussions around the league.
The biggest of those moves? The trade announced on Tuesday that will send running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills and linebacker Kiko Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The trade is rare because there are no other conditions on which it hinges. It is simply a player-for-player trade, an uncommon sight in the NFL, where transactions are often littered with future draft picks and compensation.
Hearing the news of McCoy to Buffalo, my mind flashed back to 1989 when the Dallas Cowboys traded Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings in the largest player trade in NFL history. While the trade is much starker and simpler than ‘The Great Trade Robbery’, it has an air of similarity.
Dallas traded their two-time Pro Bowl, two-time All-Pro running back to Minnesota for a bevy of mediocre players and future draft picks, some of whom did not even report to the team. Dallas obviously won out in the end, selecting Emmitt Smith with one of those draft picks, but it remains to be seen who truly benefits from the Eagles-Bills transaction.
The trade is also rare because nobody outside of the respective coaches and GMs knew anything about it. There were no rumours, no whispers, nothing – fans, teammates and even the media were caught off-guard by the left-field trade.
But perhaps the most puzzling element of this trade is revealed when you actually look at the players involved, and the value each team is getting.
Philadelphia are getting a young linebacker who had an explosive rookie year, but missed all of the 2014 season with a torn ACL.
Buffalo are getting a three-time Pro-Bowl selection and former Offensive Player of the Year, who was third in total rushing yards last year. McCoy is in the top-five active running backs for both total rushing yards and total rushing touchdowns. He led the league in rushing yards in 2013 and rushing touchdowns in 2011, both times being honoured as a First Team All-Pro selection.
The trade was never about talent, but money. Philadelphia cleared almost $12 million in cap space by shedding McCoy, while by also releasing Trent Cole and Cary Williams the Eagles have freed up $23.5 million in cap space.
Philadelphia was not the only team saying goodbye to a running back – Buffalo called C.J. Spiller and ‘thanked him for his services’ the night of the trade.
Alonso will no doubt be happy to reunite with his college coach, and Chip Kelly now has nine ex-Oregon players on his team, the most players from any one college on any current NFL team.
McCoy however is less happy about the trade – born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he played collegiately at Pittsburgh and professionally in Philadelphia. The Keystone State is all Shady has ever known, and he is reportedly “frustrated” at the trade.
Add in the fact that the Eagles made the playoffs three times while McCoy was in the backfield, while the last time the Bills made the playoffs was in 1999, when Doug Flutie was the quarterback, Thurman Thomas was the running back and Andre Reed was the wide receiver.
Finally, the trade has far-ranging implications for not only the two teams involved, but the rest of the NFL. Who will the Eagles take in the draft? How much more will the running back position be de-valued in this passing league? Can ‘Shady’ be the saviour of The Queen City and finally guide the Bills to success?
Strap in folks, I have a feeling that the 2015 NFL season is going to be a wild ride.
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