Rosenhaus, Reid, McCoy Work Together To Reach Extension

For the third time this offseason, Drew Rosenhaus and the Eagles’ front office were negotiating back and forth, working on a contract extension for one of the offense’s big pieces. In March, guard Evan Mathis and wide receiver DeSean Jackson each agreed to five-year contracts, locking them up in midnight green through 2016.

After having a breakout season, LeSean McCoy made it clear that it was his turn to get paid. On Thursday, the deal fans have been waiting for all offseason was completed. McCoy and the Eagles agreed on a five-year extension (through 2017) for $45 million with just under $21 million guaranteed.

It was clear that the Eagles front office, along with Rosenhaus, used Texans running back Arian Foster’s new deal as a guideline. Foster signed a similar contract in March. His deal also locked him up for five years, but for $43 million with just under $21 million guaranteed as well.

Following the news of the new contract, Rosenhaus met with the media to answer some questions. In what Rosenhaus called a very rare occurrence, head coach Andy Reid actually sat in during contract negotiations to make sure a deal got done.

He also explained what happened late last season when news broke that McCoy had fired Rosenhaus as his agent only to re-hire him a few hours later. Apparently the FedEx Ground Player of the Year was worried about his relationship with the Eagles and wanted to be sure that his agent was on the same page and didn’t do anything to hurt the relationship (as he has done to other players in the past).

“Shady” broke out in 2012 to let the league know that he was an elite running back. After accumulating 1,309 yard on the ground, McCoy broke franchise records for rushing touchdowns with 17 and total touchdowns with 20. After out-scoring every running back in the league by at least five touchdowns, he was able to win the Ground Player of the Year award, won by players such as Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson since the award’s introduction in 2003.

Despite the league becoming more and more of a quarterback’s league, shelling out money for a running back of McCoy’s caliber is not a bad move and was absolutely justified. At just 23 years old, McCoy has developed into one of the league’s most dangerous weapons and the most elusive running back in the open field. The rare cut that he uses, where he stops and is at top speed in two strides is one of the rarest things in sports.

“We were going to be aggressive about it,” said GM Howie Roseman on McCoy’s contract. The Eagles were certainly aggressive with the All-Pro running back as they have been all offseason with extending Todd Herremans and Trent Cole, and trading for DeMeco Ryans.

For a player that just had a son, LeSean Jr., McCoy said he was just trying to do the right things for him.

“My whole life,” concludes McCoy, “I’ve always thought of being a professional football player and working hard to this point where I sign a major contract with a great organization.” For the 23-year-old, the five-year contract is a dream come true. The Eagles are just as happy to have the All-Pro locked up.