It's easy to talk about limiting LeSean McCoy's reps in April

The Philadelphia Eagles may work to limit the touches for running back LeSean McCoy this coming season.

But saying it in April and then doing it in September to December might be two different things.

McCoy had 273 carries last season, tying him for seventh in the NFL, and he added 48 receptions. He was a dynamic performer and is in the market for a new contract. That means asking McCoy to step aside a little might not sit well with him.

The Eagles had Dion Lewis, who followed McCoy at Pitt, but he played sparingly. The team drafted Kansas State’s Bryce Brown in the seventh round and then signed Washington’s Chris Polk as an undrafted free agent, giving the club some options to consider on the depth chart.

“With Dion, I would have liked to have gotten him a little more time last year as we went on,” Reid said, according to Bob Grotz of the Delaware County Times. “I didn’t end up doing that and I probably overplayed McCoy a little bit, even though he doesn’t want to hear that. As he continues to get older and have the number of reps under his belt that he does, you’ll want to back off the number of reps that he does.”

Again, it’s one thing to talk about rationing McCoy’s carries now. It’s another thing to do it when games are on the line.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune