Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (about as reliable a source in the NFL media as one can find), LeSean McCoy is expected to be active for the Bills today as they face the Dolphins on the road, but will likely be limited in in his total snap count.
Bills' RB LeSean McCoy, listed as questionable with hamstring, is expected to play today but could be on 25-35 play pitch count, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 23, 2016
McCoy, who has yet to record more than 20 carries in a game this season, likely will cede the bulk of the work to Mike Gillislee today. It would be surprising at this point if he reached double-digit carries today. Former Dolphin Reggie Bush and rookie Jonathan Williams are also available to pick up some slack in Shady’s place.
Ideally, McCoy won’t play at all. The Bills can keep him active, but they should only really use him if they need to. If Gillislee can shoulder the load, and the game gets out of hand, there’d be no need to use him. On the other hand, if the Bills fall behind early and need a spark, the can break the emergency glass and insert Shady into the lineup for a boost.
Of course, the McCoy situation has been in flux since he injured his hamstring in practice. He was first expected to miss this week (and possibly more) before returning to practice on Friday and winding up as questionable on the injury report.
There’s still a chance he’ll be inactive if the hamstring worsens between now and game time, but for the moment it appears that the Bills will have their star runner for an important divisional tilt, albeit in a limited capacity.