Eagles to trade LeSean McCoy to Bills for Kiko Alonso

The Bills no longer have a dilemma at running back.

A team source confirmed to the Democrat and Chronicle Tuesday night that the Bills have come to an agreement on a trade to send linebacker Kiko Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy.

McCoy will be entering his seventh NFL season, and while he represents a $10 million cap hit in 2015, he instantly becomes one of the Bills' premier players.

In his first six years with the Eagles, McCoy enjoyed four 1,000-yard rushing seasons including a career-best 1,607 yards in 2013. Last year his production dipped to 1,319 yards and his average yards per carry was a whopping yard less than it had been in 2013. However, McCoy by himself had only 163 fewer yards than the entire Bills' team.

Alonso sat out all of 2014 with a knee injury suffered just weeks before training camp was to begin at St. John Fisher College. In his absence, the Bills put together one of their strongest defensive seasons in recent memory as linebackers Nigel Bradham, Preston Brown, and Brandon Spikes rose to the challenge of overcoming the loss of Alonso.

NFL DRAFT HUB: Latest NFL Draft mock drafts, news, live picks, grades and analysis.

McCoy's addition means the Bills will pass on re-signing running back C.J. Spiller, who is eligible to become a free agent next week.

"[Bills] management called me and told me that they were going in that direction," Spiller said on NFL Network's Total Access. "Pretty much giving me a 'Thank you for your service.' "

Alonso will be reunited with Chip Kelly, who coached the linebacker at his previous job at Oregon. Alonso made an immediate impact in Buffalo after being selected in the second round of the 2013 draft.

"Hard worker and very competitive. He likes to fly around, high energy guy," Spiller said of Alonso. "Student of the game. Definitely doesn't miss many tackles in the open field. He can guard running backs, he can get on tight ends, he's physical. They're getting a great player. Hard worker. Me and him kind of rehabbed together – he was doing his knee and I was doing my collarbone – and I've seen the work that he was putting in. They're getting a great individual. He's just a great person. He's down to earth, quiet, never really got into all of the hype."

He emerged as an NFL defensive rookie of the year contender after leading Buffalo with 159 tackles, two fumble recoveries and tied for the team lead with four interceptions while barely missing a snap in playing all 16 games.

In Buffalo, McCoy will be reunited with former Eagles running back Bryce Brown, who was acquired by the Bills in a trade in May.

With questions at quarterback, the Bills are intending to introduce a run-heavy offense under Ryan and new offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Maiorana writes for the (Rochester, N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, a Gannett property.