BREAKING: Philadelphia and Buffalo Swap LeSean McCoy and Kiko Alonso

Very rarely do we see NFL teams make player for player trades. As a matter of fact, seeing players dealt for anything isn’t too common of an occurrence in the NFL. Yet today, we have one of those rare instances as the Eagles and Bills have pulled off a blockbuster. The Eagles have sent All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy to Buffalo in exchange for middle linebacker Kiko Alonso.

The Bills are likely to let former high draft pick C.J. Spiller walk in free agency, and it is a near guarantee they do so now. Rex Ryan, new Bills Head Coach must have seen something he liked in McCoy who was the 2013-2014 rush yards leader because he traded perhaps his best and brightest defensive player in Kiko Alonso for him. On top of that, this trade for McCoy adds salary for Buffalo making it very difficult for them to re-sign linebacker Jerry Hughes. For Philadelphia, trading a running back of McCoy’s caliber is interesting, and has many people speculating that Philadelphia may be clearing salary for a run at Marcus Mariota in the draft.

Alonso meanwhile, was a monster in Buffalo his rookie season, making 159 tackles, 4 interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. He did however, miss most of last season with injury.

On the other hand, McCoy has been one of the more productive running backs the last few season. He was the top back in 2013-14, accumulating 2,146 yards from scrimmage. He racked up 1,474 yards from scrimmage last season.

Apparently both parties were unhappy in their settings. There were rumors that McCoy would not return to the Eagles, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, in his tweet reporting the trade, reported that Alonso had “wanted out” of Buffalo.

There is sure to be some kind of fallout for this deal, so stay tuned for any big stories coming out of Buffalo or Philly.