EAGLEMANIACAL.com

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RECENT NFL history has shown that you usually need a reliable RB to have a meaningful postseason. Distant NFL history has shown the same. Well in six years, with two coaches, and in two systems  LeSean McCoy has always produced. He is a reliable RB.

Over the next three years McCoy is due 28.6 million dollars. (Take note of that dead money figure!) The odds that he’ll see all of that money are pretty low. Especially given the decreasing demand for the position across the NFL. And then there’s the other thing.

All indications (right now) are that the Eagles will experience a salary cap crunch in 2015 which will lead to them asking players to take significant cuts, and/or releasing players outright in order to “trim the fat”. The 11.95 million McCoy is due next year, is the textbook definition of “the fat”.

I bring this up because we’re coming up on a kind of Eagles milestone here. McCoy is 1,066 yards away from being the Eagles all-time rusher. Here’s the list posted by a member of a group I belong to:

 Pretty sad that fewer than 7,000 yards marks our franchise’s all-time mark, don’t you think? The thing about that though is look at the list. No RB up there was here for more than 7 years, and THIS is McCoy’s 7^th year.

If he chooses to not eat a pay cut, what are the odds that the Eagles just shrug and pay him 12 million anyway? My guess is that they won’t and the result won’t be pretty. So far this season we’ve seen the Eagles play aggressive hardball with their players.

When DeSean Jackson was released without explanation, it wasn’t just fans and media that got stiffed, it was also the players. They were as blindsided as you and me, and didn’t appreciate it one bit. You could see annoyance in their faces when asked about DJax cursing out coaches and such. I have Nick Foles actually refuting those allegations. 

Remember what happened when Evan Mathis asked about a new deal? He was threatened with a trade and later sent a BS bonus check as a tongue-in-cheek “Fuck You Buddy”. (They would later sign his back-up to a 3-year extension.)

These are the kind of things that’ll make it hard to want to do a solid for someone. Especially when McCoy’s value depreciates each year, and what he gives up, he won’t recoup.

Those who don’t get what’s going on will suggest McCoy might “take one for the team” and eat a pay cut to help the franchise out of a jam. That could happen. I also could be elected mayor of Philadelphia, and Rueben Amaro could turn out to be a genius; but could and likely are very far apart in those cases.

I would love to see LeSean “Shady” McCoy retire as an Eagle without having ever played a single down in another NFL jersey; but it seems like economics are conspiring against that.

My nightmare scenario is watching McCoy become our all-time leading rusher this year, then seeing him open next year somewhere else. Seeing him (Reggie White) hoist a Lombardi somewhere else. Seeing him (Brian Dawkins) fire up a crowd somewhere else. Seeing him (Cris Carter) truly realize his potential somewhere else. Seeing him (LeSean McCoy)…anywhere else.