Are the Bills looking for a LeSean McCoy replacement?
With LeSean McCoy’s status possibly up in the air, the Buffalo Bills have interest in working out a veteran running back.
As the details of the situation with LeSean McCoy and his ex-girlfriend continue to surface, the Buffalo Bills may be faced with a significant void for some portion (or all of) the 2018 season. It also just so happens they have a roster spot available, with 89 players set to join them for training camp.
Filling that spot with a running back seems obvious for Buffalo, if only as a flier, just in case McCoy’s situation takes him off the field. According to Mike Rodak of ESPN, the Bills have interest in bringing Branden Oliver in for a workout.
Oliver spent the 2014-2017 seasons with the Chargers, though a torn Achilles sidelined him for the entire 2016 campaign. In eight games last season, he had 35 carries for 83 yards and six catches for 26 yards in a very limited role behind Melvin Gordon.
The Bills have shown interest in setting up a workout with former Chargers and former University at Buffalo RB Branden Oliver, a source said, but nothing has been set up yet. Their interest in Oliver predates LeSean McCoy story this week.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) July 13, 2018
Rodak noted the Bills’ interest in Oliver predated the escalating story around McCoy from the past handful of days, and a workout has not yet been scheduled. Oliver has a bit of a local tie to the Bills, as he is the all-time leading rusher in University of Buffalo history with 4,049 yards.
Right now, Chris Ivory is the top option to fill-in as Buffalo’s No. 1 running back if McCoy is rendered unavailable. Travaris Cadet, Taiwan Jones, Keith Ford and Marcus Murphy round out the list of current in-house options.
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Oliver is a worthy camp flier, and the Bills have room to add him without consequence. But if McCoy’s situation continues to have troubling details added to it, and thus draws consequences from the NFL, expect Adrian Peterson, DeMarco Murray, Alfred Morris and Jamaal Charles to be the top available names attached to the running back void in Buffalo.