Buffalo Bills: Breaking down the impact of LeSean McCoy’s release

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 16: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Buffalo Bills reacts during the first quarter of their preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on August 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 16: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Buffalo Bills reacts during the first quarter of their preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on August 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 16: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Buffalo Bills reacts during the first quarter of their preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on August 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 16: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Buffalo Bills reacts during the first quarter of their preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on August 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The Buffalo Bills made a surprise move Saturday morning by releasing running back LeSean McCoy. We break down what the impact will be for the team this season and beyond.

The Buffalo Bills were going to have to cut almost half the players on their roster by 4 PM today to get down to the required 53 players. However, based on what was said this summer and through training camp, it was hard to believe that one of those players was going to be LeSean McCoy.

That was exactly the case as the Bills decided to release McCoy and move on from their starting running back from the past four seasons. At 31 years of age, and entering the final year of his contract, it was unlikely that his time with the franchise would extend past this 2019 season.  However, he was expected to play a pivotal role in this offense this season.

By releasing a player like LeSean McCoy there is a number of ways this impacts the team for this season and long term. We take a look at what fans can expect going forward.

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