LeSean McCoy: DeMarco Murray not among the best

Breaking up is hard to do, but if you're LeSean McCoy, apparently it's impossible.

A whole six months has past since the Eagles dealt McCoy to the Bills in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso, nowhere near long enough for the traded to keep taking shots at the traders.

In particular, his own replacement. Speaking with GQ magazine, McCoy took aim at new Eagles starting running back DeMarco Murray.

"I think Murray's good," he said. "But I don't see him as competition as far as the best backs. I like my game a lot."

The fact that McCoy likes anything about himself is hardly breaking news. Not seeing Murray as decent enough competition for him, however, raises the eyebrows. Murray, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, led the NFL with 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, powering the Cowboys to a 12-win campaign and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.

McCoy also said Bills head coach Rex Ryan "lets you be a man," leaving wide open the silent implication that Eagles head coach Chip Kelly did not, which are strange words coming from the man who took and held Philadelphia's all-time rushing records under Kelly.

Kelly made the trade because he thought he could get better in his backfield. While that remains to be seen, the different style that Murray brings certainly sets up the possibility. Murray is a straight-ahead, north to south rusher, contrasting heavily with McCoy's style (picked up especially during his last season with the Eagles) of looking for the big play, scampering east to west, often resulting in short or lost yardage on plays.

LeSean McCoy will have his first chance to "be a man" when the Bills open their regular season against the Indianapolis Colts at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday.

Bills re-sign Matt Cassel

The Buffalo Bills just couldn't quit Matt Cassel.


The club announced on Tuesday that it would re-sign the quarterback only three days after sending the veteran to the curb.

None of the contractual terms were officially released, but it would be appropriate to assume a pay cut of some sort was in order for Cassel to return to a field that includes E.J. Manuel and declared starter Tyrod Taylor.

Head coach Rex Ryan said during the offseason that it was his plan to keep three quarterbacks on the roster for the coming season. Cassel looked early on like he would lead that tangent, but was steadily outplayed down the stretch and finally unseated by Taylor after his performance against the Steelers in their third exhibition game.

The Bills released tight end Nick O'Leary in a corresponding move days after learning he made the 53 man roster, a list that apparently isn't as binding as he thought.

Bills keep IK Enemkpali on practice squad

The effort to get IK Enemkpali back onto a starting NFL roster fell through after the Bills released him to comply with the 53 man mandate.

That doesn't mean he'll be moving out of Orchard Park, though. The Bills will keep the second-year linebacker on their practice squad, according to NFL Media.

Enemkpali had the option to visit with other teams, but elected to stay in Buffalo with Rex Ryan, who coached him when both were with the Jets last season.

The Bills claimed Enemkpali off waivers in August when he was released by New York after he broke starting quarterback Geno Smith's jaw in a locker room altercation. Smith said on Monday that he would not be pressing any charges against his former teammate for giving him the injury that will keep him out of football for six to ten weeks.

Ryan "cautiously optimistic" McCoy will start

Bills head coach Rex Ryan is still "cautiously optimistic" that running back LeSean McCoy will be healthy enough to start the regular season on Sept. 13, according to ESPN.

"I'm hoping that he'll be available to us," he said, per the report.

McCoy has been questionable to play in the team's opener against the Colts since suffering a right hamstring injury on Aug. 18 at the Bills' summer training camp. 

That injury is not believed to be a tear by those close to the situation, despite other reports to the contrary in recent days.

"Apparently, that person knows more than I do," Ryan said in relation to that rumor.

McCoy took an important step forward on Friday, though. He was spotted participating in individual drills, according to ESPN's Mike Rodak. Though still kept from the full team activities, it's an important step in his progress to making an appearance in the opener.

Even with McCoy's situation is still far from clear, the man himself is confident that he will start. The Bills do enjoy some depth at the position despite releasing Fred Jackson this week. Bryce Brown, Boobie Dixon, and Karlos Williams serve a decent committee behind the presumed starter, should he be limited in carries.

Bills cut IK Enemkpali

That reunion IK Enemkpali was set to have with head coach Rex Ryan didn't last nearly as long as he thought it would.

The linebacker was released by the Buffalo Bills on Friday, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, less than a month after the team claimed him off waivers.

Enemkpali was promptly released by the New York Jets in August after a fight in the team's locker room where he sucker punched quarterback Geno Smith because of a financial dispute, setting him aside for the next 6 to 10 weeks with a broken jaw.

Bills' LeSean McCoy may miss Week 1

Bills running back LeSean McCoy may not be ready for action when the regular season begins, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.

McCoy "will be on a pitch count, I think at the very best" when Buffalo hosts the Colts to Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sept. 13, a source told Anderson.

The three-time Pro Bowl selection suffered a hamstring injury during an Aug. 18 practice session and has been limited since then. Head coach Rex Ryan said then that he and his staff were "cautiously optimistic" about McCoy being ready for the season.

"You know he is a Ferrari and for him to be hitting on all cylinders, that thing has got to be right," the source added.

A very productive back overall, having carried for more than 1,000 yards in four of his last five professional seasons, the effect of those bumps and bruises he's been taking may have contributed to this injury. He led the NFL with 1,607 yards two years ago on his way to becoming the Eagles' all time rusher before the club traded him to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso this offseason.

Despite releasing tailback Fred Jackson this week, the Bills still have options behind center. Bryce Brown, Boobie Dixon, and Karlos Williams, all nursing minor injuries of their own this summer, could supply a rushing committee behind declared starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor should their presumed starting back not be ready for their opening game.

Bills' Aaron Kromer placed on indefinite leave

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bills placed offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer on indefinite paid administrative leave following his arrest over the weekend, the team announced in a statement.

"Over the last few days, our organization has continued to gather information in regards to the alleged incident involving offensive line coach Aaron Kromer," Bills president Russ Brandon said.

"We have been in regular discussions with the league office and have decided to place Aaron on indefinite paid administrative leave in accordance with the league's Personal Conduct Policy while we continue to work our way through the investigative process with the league."

Kromer is accused of misdemeanor battery following an incident in Walton County, Fla., in which the deputy sheriff reported a violent altercation between he and a minor.

Upon arrival at Inlet Beach, sheriffs were told Kromer and his son confronted three boys about the use of his beach chairs.

The alleged victims reported that Kromer threw their fishing pole into the water and pushed one of them to the ground, punching him in the left eye. The sheriff was also told that Kromer threatened to kill the boy's family if they reported him to the police.

The alleged incident took place after 1 a.m and Kromer was released on bond roughly two hours later. A 15 year position coach in the NFL, Kromer was hired by the Bills after spending the last two seasons heading the Chicago Bears' offensive line.

@MrJamesParks

Bills WR: We're shooting for the Super Bowl

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The NFL offseason is the perfect time of year for speculators, "analysts," and athletes to fill themselves with stupid and unfounded optimism.

Bills wide receiver Robert Woods took his turn being stupid on Friday, reiterating the stupidity of his bravado-ridden head coach Rex Ryan, telling WGR 550 (Buffalo) of his team's hopes this coming season.

"Get to the Super Bowl," he said. "Nothing less than the Super Bowl with this team and the possibilities of our offense and our defense. That's what we're shooting for."

It didn't take long to figure out where those views came from: Ryan himself, whose confidence did him so well with the Jets, who fired him at last season's end, and who took the time recently to deliver a "general message to the team."

"We haven't been to the playoffs," Woods noted in an attack of reality which he soon lost, "but we're knocking at the door, and I think this team right here is just too good and has too many weapons on offense and defense to fall short of that."

Weapons on offense include new running back LeSean McCoy, traded apparently against his will from the Eagles last month, Woods himself, and pass-catcher Sammy Watkins, who last year tallied six touchdowns on 982 yards for Buffalo's 26th-ranked offensive eleven.

Though with an open competition coming at quarterback, one may wonder from whom these championship-winning passes will be thrown from. Last season found Kyle Orton's last-ditch effort at glory, leading Buffalo to an 18th-ranked passing attack (225.9 ypg). With Orton's retirement, E.J. Manuel and Matt Cassel, who was traded from the Vikings in March, remain under center.

Safety Dawan Landry visits Bills

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - With the Buffalo Bills looking to add to their secondary, on Tuesday head coach Rex Ryan hosted safety Dawan Landry, the team announced.

Landry, who played the last two seasons with Ryan when both were with the Jets, is a ten-year veteran and consistent starter. A fifth-round pick by the Ravens in 2006, Landry has 768 career tackles and 8 sacks, adding 13 interceptions. 

He signed a free agent deal with the Jaguars in 2011, leaving with 97 tackles and two interceptions, including a career-best five pick season in '11, before being released in March 2013, where he would meet up with then-Jets boss Ryan.

Landry would feature across from corner-turned-safety Aaron Williams. The Bills lost safety Da'Norris Searcy to the Titans in the free agency period. Duke Williams, Baccari Rambo, and Jonathan Meeks will also compete for a strong safety position.

LeSean McCoy: Chip Kelly doesn't respect stars

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - When running back LeSean McCoy was traded suddenly from the Eagles to the Bills, there were reports from sources close to him that he was more than disgruntled with his change of address.

A product of Harrisburg and the University of Pittsburgh, McCoy had spent his entire football career, and life, in Pennsylvania before being shipped to western New York.

The shock of the move, in the first offseason that finds head coach Chip Kelly in charge of the Eagles' roster moves, allowed McCoy to spin some theories surrounding his departure in his first meeting with Philadelphia reporters.

"I don't think he respects the stars," he said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I'm being honest. I think he likes the fact that it's Chip Kelly and the Eagles."

Kelly would say the move came because of money and team owner Jeffrey Lurie because he thought McCoy's shifty running style didn't fit into Kelly's scheme.

Lurie noted that Kelly preferred the north-to-south running game that new back DeMarco Murray, signed this year from Dallas, would provide, compared with McCoy's tendency to hop back and forth looking for the big hole that last season, more often than not, never came open. 

Kelly's financial argument seemingly fails to hold water, though, as McCoy would have only taken $12 million off the books, and the team would later sign Murray to a five-year, $40 million deal.

McCoy, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, put his name to an identical deal with Buffalo after being told he was traded by his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, on March 10, something he didn't exactly expect.

"He called up and said, 'Hey, it's not a joke. Eagles are trading you to the Bills,'" McCoy said. "I'm like What?" 

"Money wasn't the first reason that made me want to come here," he added. "Even when I knew [about the deal] I was like, 'I'm not going there. I don't give a freak what they give me, I'm not going.' And then I realized it was the best for me. This is a team that wants me. Coach [Rex] Ryan is a winner and he wants to run the ball."

McCoy tallied an Eagles season-best 1,607 yards and eleven touchdowns in 2013, and left Philadelphia as the club's all-time leading rusher with 6,792 yards.

"For so many years I gave you all what you wanted. You know?" he said. "And then for how it went down, it was like a surprise. I'm thinking, 'Does everybody look at it how I look at it?'"

Reports: McCoy unhappy about trade to Bills

PHILADELPHIA - A day after hearing that he would be traded to the Buffalo Bills, Eagles running back LeSean McCoy is reportedly upset about the move, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.

"He's a Pennsylvania kid," a source told her. "He's never played football outside of Pennsylvania - high school, college, pro. So of course he's not happy. Sounds like it's pretty final to me unless LeSean is refusing to go to Buffalo."

McCoy was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capitol, and played college football at Pittsburgh before being drafted by Philadelphia in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

"It'll be interesting to see how this process plays itself out because he's an interesting individual. In your mind, when you think of Buffalo you think of cold and losing games. It's not like it's the Philadelpihia market where you're always on T.V. and you're playing for, like, the division title or that type of thing. . . It was unexpected. I'll tell you that much."

The source also told Anderson that McCoy is "not going to make it easy, that's for sure."

Bills trade for QB Cassel

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - With the departure of veteran quarterback Kyle Orton to retirement after last season, the Buffalo Bills were on the market for a new passer, and on Wednesday, in a trade with the Vikings, they found Matt Cassel.

The Bills will receive a sixth-round pick, in exchange for a fifth-round choice, in the 2015 Draft from the Vikings as part of the deal, and a seventh-round selection in 2017, according to Fox Sports.

Cassel has one year remaining on a two-year deal worth $10 million signed in February with Minnesota, and is due $4.15 million next season in addition to a $500,000 roster bonus.

He started for the Vikings last season before an injury in Week 3 sidelined him for the rest of the year, thrusting rookie Teddy Bridgewater into the position.

Cassel, a tenth-year man from USC, will compete for the starting job in Buffalo with E.J. Manuel. He has more than 15,000 career passing yards for 96 touchdowns.

Buffalo on Tuesday received former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy in a trade that saw them send linebacker Kiki Alonso to Philadelphia as the Bills look to be major players in free agency this offseason.

Bills: RB Spiller leaving town

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - On the same evening that found the Bills trade for running back LeSean McCoy from the Eagles, Bills running back C.J. Spiller has announced he will not return to the team next season.

He was told of the trade by Willie McGinest, host of NFL Total Access on the NFL Network, on which he was appearing, and minutes later received a telephone call from the Bills to inform him of the swap.

He had said previously that he was open to rejoining the team.

"I hoped that I could return [to Buffalo]," Spiller told the network. "Very few guys get to play their whole career at one team, but unfortunately that doesn't happen in this business and I found out today it doesn't happen in this business."

With the new hole in the Eagles backfield courtesy of the McCoy trade, Spiller wondered aloud if he could fill that spot.

"I'm pretty sure that Chip [Kelly] has my agent's phone number, so I'm pretty sure we might have to make a call over there," he said.

"I've never been in that type of system before," he said of Kelly's up-tempo scheme, "but I don't think I'd have any problem adjusting to it."

Spiller was slowed by injuries this season, carrying 78 times for 300 yards in nine appearances for Buffalo, though in a five-year career, all with the Bills, he has 12 touchdowns on 3,321 yards. 

Eagles trade McCoy to Bills for LB

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles have agreed in principle to a trade that will send running back LeSean McCoy to Buffalo and linebacker Kiko Alonso to Philadelphia, according to multiple sources.

The trade will become official next week when the league year begins on March 10, Adam Schefter of ESPN has reported.

"I just spoke with the Eagles organization and there is no trade for LeSean at this time. There have been discussions but nothing finalized," McCoy's agent Drew Rosenhaus said in a tweet near 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening.

McCoy finished third in football last season, rushing for 1,319 yards on 312 attempts for 5 touchdowns, and will seek to aid a Bills backfield that averaged only 25th in rushing in 2014. 

He is signed with the Eagles through 2017 and was due an estimated $9.75 million next season, giving the team a $11.95 million cap hit.

Alonzo will seek to insert himself into an Eagles defensive backfield that this week saw the departure of cornerback Cary Williams and ten-year veteran outside linebacker Trent Cole.

Those cuts gave the Eagles $31.75 million against their salary cap, and Alonzo is still subject to his rookie contract, giving him $4.3 million over four seasons through 2016.

Alonzo missed all of last season with a torn ACL for Buffalo, though the season prior placed second in Rookie Defensive Player of the Year voting. He played college football at Oregon for current Eagles head coach Chip Kelly.

In 2013, Alonzo started all 16 games for the Bills, recording a team-best 159 tackles, adding 2 sacks, a forced fumble, two recovered fumbles, and four interceptions.

Buffalo added former Jets head coach Rex Ryan to the same position in the offseason and are looking to improve on a 9-7 record. Philadelphia finished 10-6 for the second straight season.

Reports: Bills and QB Josh McCown in talks

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Josh McCown and the Bills are reportedly working out a deal to bring the quarterback to Buffalo, according to reports.

A source close to the team told the Associated Press that both sides were negotiating on a contract, though the source remained anonymous as the Bills do not speak publicly concerning contract discussions.

McCown visited the Bills on Feb. 16, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News, who reported a source telling him the negotiations could be completed, with the deal done, by Friday.

The 12 year veteran, among the best free agents at quarterback, spent the past two days with the Browns, and also recently visited the Bears and Jets.

McCown went 1-10 with the Buccaneers last season, tossing 11 touchdowns on 2,206 yards, though his campaign was marred by 18 turnovers (14 INT). He holds a 17-32 career record.

Reports: Mike Shanahan meets with Raiders, Bills

Former Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan has interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills, according to reports.

Dianna Marie Russini of NBC-4 (Washington) reported Shanahan met with the Raiders this week. He coached 20 games for the team in Los Angeles in 1988 and '89, and left the franchise after developing a sour relationship with owner Al Davis.

Sour would be a kind assessment: former pro quarterback Elvis Grbac said Shanahan once told him to throw a football at Davis during a pre-game warmup when both were with the 49ers in the 1994 season.

Adam Schefter of ESPN also reported that Shanahan met with Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula and other team officials on Sunday. Former head coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract this week following two seasons in Buffalo and a 15-17 record.

Shanahan met with Chris Berman for ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" this season and intimated that he still has an interest in coaching.

"Well, one thing that I want to do is win," Shanahan said when asked about it. "So it's not just coaching but going to the right organization that will make a strong commitment. There's only one team that's happy at the end of the year and that's the team that wins the Super Bowl."

Shanahan, a two-time Super Bowl champion with Denver, did not coach last season after being released by the Redskins following the 2013 season, leading Washington to one playoff appearance in his tenure.

Bills: coach Doug Marrone resigns

BUFFALO - Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract Wednesday to pursue another coaching position, team owner Doug Pagula said.

"Doug Marrone informed me late today that he has decided to exercise the option clause in his contract and relinquish his responsibilities as our head coach," Pegula said in a statement.

Marrone led the Bills to a 15-17 record in two seasons with the club, improving from a 6-10 campaign in 2013 to a 9-7 mark this season and a second-place spot in the AFC East. 

"We are disappointed that Coach Marrone will no longer be an important part of our organization," Pagula added. "We thank him for all of his hard work and leadership during his tenure and wish him and his family the best with the next chapter in their lives."

Wednesday marked the third of a three-day window for him to opt out of his contract, a clause added when the Bills were sold to Pagula following the death of team founder Ralph Wilson this year.

"We will now begin the important process of conducting a thorough search for a new head coach as we continue to strive to reach our goal of returning to the playoffs and bringing a championship to Buffalo for our fans," Pagula said, who also owns the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.

Marrone is a free agent to seek any coaching position and will receive a guaranteed $4 million without that amount counting as an offset against any future salary he may earn elsewhere. 

Buffalo fielded the fourth-best defense in football and the 26th-best offensive eleven and quarterback Kyle Orton announced his retirement at season's end.