LeSean McCoy Signs With Chiefs, Reunites With Andy Reid

Former Eagles and Bills running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy will reportedly have a reunion with his former Philadelphia coach, Andy Reid, in Kansas City as the Chiefs have signed him to a one-year deal, $4 million deal ($3 million guaranteed), according to multiple reports. McCoy had been in Buffalo for four seasons until the news broke on Saturday that the veteran would not make the Bills’ 53-man roster.

The fact that Shady got cut in the first place both was and was not a surprise. While NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Bills were vocal about keeping McCoy on the team, the 30-year-old back was coming off of his worst season of his career, rushing for just 514 yards and three touchdowns—none receiving—while averaging a mere 3.2 yards per attempt, beating out 4.0 Y/A low mark he set just one year before. Of course, those bad numbers don’t mean a whole lot when the quarterback of a player’s new team is excited for that player’s arrival.

Even with his age and dwindling stats, McCoy should still be a solid contributor to the Chiefs’ offense given that he’ll have the luxury of being surrounded by more talent than in Buffalo—in case you forgot, Mahomes is coming off of an MVP season, and most of the skill players from that remarkable year are still on the team. Reid’s past experience with the back will also help finding spots in the playbook where the new signing will fit best, and his position as top backup is already cemented for the start of the season because the Chiefs traded his only real potential competition, Carlos Hyde, away to the Texans.

But regardless of how many touches he gets, or what his role ends up being by the end of the season, this move is a big win for Shady himself. Not only is he making the leap from a bottom-dwelling team that has to play Tom Brady twice a year to a Super Bowl contender, but his demotion from being a starter could also allow him to keep a profile low enough to make people forget he a) spoiled the latest Avengers movie and b) was accused of being involved in a home invasion and robbery that put an ex-girlfriend in the hospital.