LeSean McCoy, Inactive For Super Bowl, Spoke About Retirement Plans: ‘That Day Is Definitely Coming’

LeSean McCoy won’t be on the field for the Super Bowl, and the former NFL All Pro is apparently thinking about how his career will come to an end.

In the days leading up to the big game, the Kansas City Chiefs running back addressed his plans for retirement, saying he still has some left in the tank but is definitely putting thought into how his career will be winding down. The Kansas City Chiefs announced ahead of the Super Bowl that McCoy would be inactive, a healthy scratch for the second straight game. McCoy has not gotten a carry since Week 15, falling completely out of the rotation in the backfield.

But even as it was clear that he would not be playing a significant role for the Chiefs, McCoy told NFL.com earlier in the week that he knows retirement is not far on the horizon.

“Nah, I’m not ready to retire, yet,” McCoy said.

“I still can play. So, I’m not going to retire yet, but that day is coming. That day is definitely coming.”

The report noted that McCoy has taken his diminished role in stride, taking pride in his role providing leadership to fellow backs Damien Williams and Darwin Thompson. But McCoy did say he was ready whenever called upon.

“It’s been up and down (this year),” McCoy said.

“Early in the year I got to play more, then I got hurt, I got sick. The other backs stepped up and played really, really good, so my role kind of backtracked a little bit. But to be honest, man, like whenever my name is called, my number is called, I’m out there giving 110 percent.”

McCoy took an equally diplomatic stance in his final season with the Buffalo Bills, when his role as the lead running back diminished and he split time with the team’s other running backs.

The retirement speculation is likely to kick up even more now that McCoy is a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl. He signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs before the season and would be headed to free agency, where the market for 31-year-old running backs would be uncertain at best. It is also not clear how winning a Super Bowl title — whether he is on the field for the game itself or not — could affect McCoy’s plans going forward. After 11 seasons in the NFL, this is the first time that McCoy’s team has made it to the big game.