Bills and Eagles Announce Blockbuster Trade

As far as the “Big 4” North American sports leagues go, the NFL is miles behind when it comes to exciting player transfers, be it during or after the playing season.

It appears nobody relayed this message to the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, with the two franchises today reportedly agreeing on a straight-up trade that would send ultra-talented young linebacker Kiko Alonso to Philly in exchange for the explosive and elusive LeSean McCoy.

The massive news came from nowhere during the part of the offseason typically reserved for franchise tagging and contract negotiations. Player-for-player trades are rare to say the least, and this exchange is even more peculiar considering neither franchise really has a huge need for each other’s asset.

Last season, Buffalo fared quite well with its three-headed monster at running back. Fred Jackson, Anthony “Boobie” Dixon and the league’s most underutilised player in C.J. Spiller have formed into a fearsome unit in their short time together. One would expect at least one – and possibly more – of those players to get the shaft in order to make room for “Shady” McCoy.

McCoy himself is coming off a good-but-not-great 2014, amassing almost 1500 yards from scrimmage and cementing himself as the x-factor of an Eagles offense built on speed in all facets. With McCoy comes $9.75 million of baggage in base salary, which does the Bills no favors in their pursuit of an above-average quarterback.

It’s no secret that fresh Buffalo head coach Rex Ryan loves to run the football, but why the defensive mastermind would so willingly part ways with one of the most exciting young stars in the NFL is anyone’s guess.

It’s possible the franchise wanted nothing to do with a recuperating Alonso following least year’s season-ending ACL tear. On the other side of the table, Chip Kelly has a mountain of improvement to heap onto his defense before 2015’s opening night. And although it was the Eagles’ secondary that let Philly fans down so regularly in 2014, perhaps Kelly figures the problem will resolve itself with the help of a more frequent pass rush.

At any rate, the trade cannot be made official until the start of the NFL year on March 10. Once that red tape has been cleared, though, it will surely signal the beginning of another tumultuous football season.