LeSean McCoy Strains Hamstring, Leaves Buffalo Bills Practice Early

Running back LeSean McCoy had a less than amicable exit from Chip Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles as he was traded to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for Kiko Alonso. The move came with mixed reaction and had many Eagles fans scratching their heads. On Tuesday, McCoy left practice early with hamstring strain as announced by head coach Rex Ryan after the session. McCoy’s early exit from practice comes on the same day the Eagles announced Alonso will return to practice this week after sustaining a concussion during an open practice a couple of weeks ago.

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McCoy will have an MRI on Wednesday to determine the strain’s severity. Since it wasn’t announced as a tear, it appears to not be too serious, but doctors aren’t 100% sure the exact extent of an off the bone injury until an MRI is completed. If the injury is serious, then McCoy’s 2015 season could be over before it even began.

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The Bills are preparing to take on the Cleveland Browns on Thursday in their second preseason game. In the first game McCoy saw limited action as expected since his roster spot and place on the depth chart is clearly the starting running back.

Yet, McCoy now has to worry about this injury and its ramifications on his season instead of worrying about the Browns or the regular season. Last season, McCoy broke the 1,000 yard mark for rushing yards for the fourth time in five years and signed a five-year, $40 million contract extension with the Bills.

McCoy is entering his prime and is one of the most dangerous running backs in the league. It’s clear why the Bills wanted a player like McCoy to help compensate for a lack of a star quarterback. McCoy probably will see more touches this year than with the Eagles last season. However, that is all up in the air until the extent of his hamstring tear is revealed at Wednesday’s MRI.

Bills and their fans are holding their breath that it is a minor tear and he can play week 1 or part way through the season. If McCoy’s injury turns out to be severe, the Bills’ chances of competing for the AFC East would be over and they can kiss their chances of making the playoffs goodbye as well. Simply put, McCoy was brought on to carry this Bills team. Without him, they won’t be able to find sustained success during the 2015 NFL season and it will be another disappointing season for Bills fans to get through.

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