Coming off of the least productive season of his career, and an injury-riddled one at that, LeSean McCoy's status in Buffalo appeared not so certain.
After all, the 30-year-old running back is entering the final season of a five-year deal in Orchard Park and is owed around $6.2 million in 2019. If the Bills choose to let the aging back go, they will incur a cap hit of just $2.6 million.
However, according to Bills general manager Brandon Beane, Buffalo intends to keep McCoy in the building through the remainder of his deal.
"He is part of our plan," Beane told reporters during Buffalo's post-mortem presser Monday. "You saw some plays he still made yesterday. I think if we can improve in other areas, that will help LeSean.
"I'm not a believer that LeSean is done. I know you're talking about his number is around $6 million. If he gets back to form and we get our offense going, I think he can still be a weapon."
Throughout his career, the shifty McCoy has averaged 4.5 yards per rushing attempt, but the Bills back ran for a career-low 514 yards on 161 attempts in 2018 at a 3.2 YPA clip. As Beane implied in his press conference, McCoy's poor production was partially due to an offense limited by its skill position and offensive line depth and its QB carousel for a good part of the season. But even when Josh Allen was installed as the starter, McCoy was barely effective.
McCoy was sidelined at times by a concussion and ribs and hamstring injuries during the season. He was also benched for the start of Buffalo's Week 16 loss as a disciplinary measure.
McCoy is not the only Bills running back on the roster through 2019. Chris Ivory, Marcus Murphy and Keith Ford will still be under contract.
