LeSean McCoy retiring as an Eagle, will be honored Sunday

Share

LeSean McCoy, the Eagles’ all-time leading rusher and the NFL’s most productive running back of the 2010s, has decided to retire and will be honored after the first quarter of their game against the Chiefs Sunday.

McCoy will sign a one-day contract to officially retire as an Eagle, and he’ll do it with Chiefs coach Andy Reid in the building. Reid drafted McCoy 12 years ago and coached him for four years with the Eagles and a fifth season with the Chiefs.

“Some of the best times of my life were here,” McCoy said in 2017. “It's always special getting back to Philly. This is my home and the fans and this organization were great to me since I got here at 20 years old, so it's always going to be special to me.”

McCoy, a 2nd-round pick out of Pitt in 2009, rushed for 11,102 yards with a 4.5 average and caught 518 passes for 3,898 yards in 12 NFL seasons. He scored 89 touchdowns, made six Pro Bowls and 1st-team All-Pro twice and won Super Bowl rings as a backup with the Chiefs and Buccaneers the last two years.

Only nine running backs made more Pro Bowls than McCoy, and all are in the Hall of Fame other than Adrian Peterson, who isn’t eligible yet.

In his six seasons with the Eagles, McCoy rushed for 6,792 yards and caught 300 passes for 2,282 yards.

“LeSean possessed a unique combination of speed, elusiveness and an exceptional playmaking ability that made him one of the most dynamic players in the league and one of the most productive players in the history of our franchise,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a release.

“LeSean carried himself with a rare blend of confidence and youthful enthusiasm, but he also was driven by a desire to be one of the all-time greats at the running back position, and that’s what made him such an exciting player to be around and watch every week.”

McCoy, who turned 33 in July, was not in a training camp this past summer. The final game of his career was the Buccaneers’ NFC Championship Game win over the Packers in January at Lambeau Field.

In his prime, Shady was one of the most electrifying running backs the NFL has ever seen.

McCoy’s 4.5 career rushing average is 7th-highest among the 31 10,000-yard rushers in NFL history, behind only Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Tiki Barber, O.J. Simpson, Peterson and Fred Taylor.

He’s one of only five backs in NFL history with 11,000 rushing yards and 500 catches. The others are all Hall of Famers - Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson, Marcus Allen and Emmitt Smith.

That makes him the only player in NFL history with 11,000 rushing yards, a 4.5 average and 500 catches.

Last year, McCoy was named to the NFL’s all-decade team for the 2010s. During the span from 2010 through 2019, he led the NFL with 10,434 yards, nearly 700 more than Frank Gore. He also led the NFL with 13,923 scrimmage yards, nearly 1,700 more than Julio Jones.

McCoy’s 10 rushing touchdowns of at least 40 yards are 8th-most in NFL history. Incredibly, eight of those were in the fourth quarter, most in NFL history. Peterson is next with seven and nobody else has more than five.

And his 518 career receptions are 15th-most ever by a running back. He had seven 40-catch seasons, 9th-most by a running back.

McCoy shared playing time with Brian Westbrook and Leonard Weaver as a rookie in 2009 and then averaged 1,231 rushing yards and 1,626 scrimmage yards over the next five years. In 2013, he led the NFL with 1,607 rushing yards and 2,146 scrimmage yards.

Nonetheless, after his 2014 Pro Bowl season, Chip Kelly traded him to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso. In four years with the Bills, McCoy made three more Pro Bowls and piled up another 5,000 scrimmage yards. Despite playing just four seasons in Buffalo, he ranks 6th in Bills history in rushing yards.

Shady was reunited with Reid in Kansas City for the Chiefs’ 2019 Super Bowl run and averaged 4.6 yards on 101 carries in the last significant playing time of his career. He had only 10 carries with Tampa last year but won his second Super Bowl ring.

McCoy finished his career with exactly 15,000 scrimmage yards, 18th-most ever by a running back.

McCoy will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, which will be voted on after the 2025 season.

The Pro Football Reference Hall of Fame monitor is a stat-based measuring stick that estimates a player’s Hall of Fame chances based on various milestones and achievements that Hall of Fame voters consider.

Shady’s score of 82.84 is higher than eight current Hall of Fame running backs. No eligible running back with a score over 77.48 is not in the Hall of Fame.

Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast:

Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube

 

Contact Us