As LeSean McCoy announces his retirement from pro football, we take a brief look back at his time with the Bills.
First and foremost his arrival in Buffalo via trade came as a surprise to most Bills fans. We'd learn later that it was the Eagles that called the Bills to see if they'd be interested in the then 27-year old running back. After Buffalo offered LB Kiko Alonso the unexpected offseason trade was consummated.
The back known as 'Shady' would become the centerpiece of the Bills offense for three of his four seasons in Buffalo.
Appearing in just 12 games in his first season with the Bills in 2015, McCoy rolled up almost 1,200 total yards from scrimmage (895 rushing, 292 receiving) as the Bills went 8-8.
His most productive season in a Bills uniform came in 2016 when McCoy rushed for almost 1,300 yards (1,267) and had more than 1,600 total yards from scrimmage with 14 touchdowns. He had seven 100-yard rushing days.
"Shady had one heck of a career," said former Bills teammate Eric Wood. "Smart, competitive, really good runner with the football. From the outside it would appear that he had the worst ball security the way he would carry the ball like a loaf of bread and holding it out at times and almost making basketball type moves with the football.
"At one point though I remember Rex Ryan brought up the stat that he had the least amount of fumbles per carry over the time of his career in the NFL. So great ball security even though he wasn't a traditional ball carrier."
McCoy had over 1,100 rushing yards the following year, his first under head coach Sean McDermott, and was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl in a Bills uniform (2015-2017).
The Bills also finally ended their playoff drought that season and McCoy did all he could in the team's Wild Card playoff game at Jacksonville. He was the team's leading rusher and receiver with 119 total yards from scrimmage as he represented more than 45 percent of the team's total net yards in the 10-3 loss.
Behind an offensive line in 2018 that had lost Richie Incognito and Eric Wood, McCoy's production tailed off considerably as he managed just 514 yards and a career low 3.2 yards per carry for an offense that struggled to win at the line of scrimmage.
Perhaps his most memorable performance in a Bills uniform came in the snow game against Indianapolis on Dec. 10, 2017. McCoy, who was known as a great "snow back," rolled up a season-high 156 yards on 32 carries and the game-winning touchdown in overtime in a 13-7 final. It was also his highest single-game rushing total in a Bills uniform.
His 3,814 rushing yards helped push him over the 10,000-yard career rushing mark, but his goal to reach 12,000 career rushing yards came up 898 yards short (11,102).
"I truly loved playing with Shady. He was a guy that helped break the longest playoff drought in professional sports," said Wood. "To break that 17-year streak was the highlight of my career, so nothing but respect for Shady for what he did on the football field. If he attacks the next phase of life the way he attacked football, he'll be successful in whatever endeavor he ventures into next."
