The Bills just traded linebacker Kiko Alonso for running back LeSean McCoy and then gave McCoy a big new deal that suggests he’ll be the primary offensive engine in 2015, but word out of Buffalo is that neither McCoy’s arrival nor reported interest in Jets running back Bilal Powell will lead to Fred Jackson’s departure.
Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reports that a team source told him Jackson “isn’t going anywhere” in the wake of McCoy’s arrival. The decision to hold onto Jackson may not have been unanimous within the organization, however. Graham reports via another source that Bills owner Terry Pegula got involved in the process of deciding to hold onto the longtime member of the organization
Jackson is set to make $2.6 million in the final year of the two-year deal he signed with Buffalo last year, which is more than other teams would likely pay for a complementary back when Anthony Dixon and McCoy’s former Eagles teammate Bryce Brown are also on the roster. He ran for 525 yards on 141 carries and caught 66 passes for 501 yards last season, the fifth time in the last six years that he produced more than 1,000 yards of offense for the Bills.
UPDATE 3:10 p.m. ET: Graham has added to his report with word that the Bills have asked Jackson to restructure his contract in addition to telling him they want him to stay with the team.
