Did the Eagles really panic — and overspend on two running backs to replace one, or are LeSean McCoys’ feeling just hurt, because Chip Kelly didn’t want him?
After McCoy helped Frank Gore backed out of his deal — the Birds added both DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to the mix.
I believe the Eagles were expecting Mathews, but Murray was a last-minute surprise.
Chip Kelly said afterwards that the Eagles were able to essentially get two running backs for the price of one (McCoy). Once you look at the numbers closely — that’s not really the case.
Murray’s deal for the next three years is almost identical to the one McCoy had with the Eagles — with the only difference being the guaranteed money.
Murray gets $18 million guaranteed, and none of McCoy’s contract was guaranteed.
Appearing as a guest on The Rich Eisen Show, McCoy addressed the fact that Kelly was willing to pay for Murray, but not for him.
“I thought about that a little bit,” he said. “I didn’t understand it. I should say that. And Chip I think is a really good coach. I think this is something different for him kind of managing both, from being a coach to now kind of managing the team as far as the players that they get and they pay.
“I saw that they originally were trying to get Frank Gore, and he backed out. So then when they got DeMarco and they got Ryan Mathews, I thought it was like a panic move. With that media in Philadelphia, they can get tough on you. So I guess that was just the way to make it right. I don’t know. I can’t really answer it. They took two backs to replace one. I think DeMarco’s a hell of a back. I think he’ll do a good job there. I’m not sure how that went.”
Kelly didn’t panic — he just wanted another back.