Eleven years to the day after the Clinton Portis-Champ Bailey blockbuster trade, the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles engineered one of the biggest deals in recent NFL history.
Buffalo will trade linebacker Kiko Alonso to Philadelphia in exchange for running back LeSean McCoy, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The trade will be finalized next week.
Although some have concluded the Bills instantly won the trade, there are layers to the deal that make it an equal transaction for both clubs.
McCoy won the NFL rushing title in 2013, and he's easily the biggest offensive star the Bills have had since the Jim Kelly-Thurman Thomas era. The elusive running back is a desperately-needed weapon for Buffalo's stagnant offense, especially with the team preparing for C.J. Spiller's imminent departure.
Fred Jackson has finally begun to show signs of fatigue at 33, and the Bills needed a new fulcrum for their run-heavy offense - a scheme that ought not to change much after the hiring of former 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman in the same capacity over the winter.
Alonso, on the other hand, will be paired with Mychal Kendricks to give the Eagles one of the most formidable inside linebacker combinations in the NFL. For years, Philadelphia had ignored its genuine need for more depth among its front seven, and the 24-year-old is an instant upgrade over incumbent starters DeMeco Ryans and Emmanuel Acho.
Again, it's not a clear win for the Bills, as the younger Alonso is significantly cheaper for the next two years. Monday Morning Quarterback's Andrew Brandt reported that Alonso will be paid a base salary of $746,000 and $942,000 respectively over the next two seasons. McCoy, on the other hand, will be owed $10.25 million, $6.9 million and $7.6 million over the next three years.
McCoy is a known commodity, and the Bills will be getting one of the league's most dynamic players. However, he also ran behind the best left side of any offensive line, with tackle Jason Peters and guard Evan Mathis clearing out space for the supremely agile running back.
Buffalo's offensive line is porous and needs a heavy investment in new guards if they are to actualize McCoy's full potential.
Alonso tore his ACL prior to his sophomore season, but in his first campaign finished second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. The rangy linebacker excels as a run-stopper but did an admirable job in coverage, and only stands to improve under Chip Kelly and Bill Davis's scheme.
The Bills' defense excelled without Alonso, and Nigel Bradham's rapid improvement likely made the emerging star expendable. Philadelphia trusted its pace-and-space offense to keep ticking without McCoy, and freed up cap space to make the sum of its parts a lot stronger entering 2015.
It appears that both teams came away as winners and can go to sleep Tuesday evening knowing they fixed a major deficiency entering free agency.