LeSean McCoy never wanted to leave Philadelphia, and if he has his way, the two-time All-Pro will finish his impressive career in midnight green.
The 31-year-old told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport - as transcribed by Adam Hermann of NBC Sports Philadelphia - that he would be keen on returning to the place that he spent the first six seasons of his NFL career:
Rapoport: How much have you thought about potentially being back in an Eagles uniform?
McCoy: I've thought about it, even in times when they were trying to trade for me. At the time, Buffalo wouldn't let me go.
But, listen. It's not a secret. Everybody knows it was a special place for me there, when I was playing for the Eagles. I started there, they kind of changed my life for the better. I was 20 years old, you know? Coach Reid brought me up.
A lot of my best friends I played with, we're still good friends. I just talked to Fletcher Cox, what, yesterday, just texting him and messing around. A lot of my good friends are still there.
So it would mean a lot for me to play back there when I'm done - to finish, I should say, my career out there. That'd be excellent. That's like home for me. But right now I'm trying to find the right fit for me. If it's Philadelphia, it is, and if it's not, it's not.
McCoy is at a strange place as he looks to extend his NFL career. Though he fell out of favor in Kansas City and was inactive for their victory in Super Bowl LIV, he did average 4.6 yards-per-carry in 2019. Granted, he only carried the ball 101 times, but that was by far his highest yards-per-carry average since 2016. That leads you to think that even though he'll turn 32 in July, he may still be able to contribute to an NFL team.
The Eagles selected McCoy in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft out of Pittsburgh. During McCoy's first NFL season, he was behind Eagles' icon Brian Westbrook on the depth chart. In a recent interview, McCoy says he would be cool with the idea of helping a talented young running back reach his full potential.
Another second-round pick that played his college ball in the state of Pennsylvania - Miles Sanders - looked like a budding star in his rookie season of 2019. Sanders averaged 4.9 yards-per-carry in his rookie season, while also tallying over 500 receiving yards. He's a lock to be on the team's roster in 2020, and Boston Scott, who emerged late in the season, feels pretty likely to be as well. The Eagles did lose Jordan Howard in free agency to the Miami Dolphins, but their willingness to sign McCoy or any veteran free-agent rusher would likely be dependent on them not using a relatively high pick on a running back in the NFL Draft. The means that if the Eagles were to show serious interest in McCoy, it likely wouldn't be until after the NFL Draft.
McCoy is the leading rusher in Eagles history, with 6,792 of his 11,071 yards coming with the team. The man affectionately referred to as "Shady" is 22nd in NFL history in rushing yards. Of the 21 other running backs with 11,000 or more rushing yards, 16 are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Two others - Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson - are locks to head to Canton when their respective careers conclude. Perhaps McCoy will end up in the category of Fred Taylor, Corey Dillon and Steven Jackson - excellent running backs that voters think fall just short of being worthy of election. However, one would think part of wanting to continue his career is that McCoy believes he can strengthen his Hall of Fame case.
