Running back C.J. Spiller has taken less than half of the offensive snaps for the Buffalo Bills this season - an especially eye-opening stat considering Spiller is far and away one of their most dynamic playmakers.
But Spiller hasn't been seeing the field or making plays so far this season, and it has many in Buffalo and around the league wondering if that could portend his departure from the Bills.
After Sunday's loss to the Patriots - which saw Spiller enter the game for only 12 of the team's 69 offensive snaps - he was asked about the possible trade speculation.
"This organization is going to do what's best for the organization to be in position to win ball games and win championships," Spiller told The Buffalo News. "I want to be involved in that, be a part of that here at Buffalo, but if this organization decides to go in a different direction, I won't have any bad feelings at all. That's part of the business. I want to be a Bill."
Spiller claims that the potential of being dealt doesn't bother him - in fact, he rarely, if ever, even thinks about it.
"I block it out, man. I honestly do," he said Wednesday. "I just focus on trying to get better at my craft. All that other stuff, if it happens, it happens. It's not like I'm begging for it to happen. That's something I can't control."
Spiller is in the final season of his rookie contract. He's spent five years in Buffalo, but his 12 snaps against New England were his fewest in a game since Week Nine of the 2011 season.
"I always said you take advantage when you're in there, do everything you possibly can to make plays for your team," he said. "So I'm not caught up in how many snaps I get. Obviously you want to play more, but certain things happen throughout the game, and you have to go to different packages. I'm not concerned.
"We have other guys who are very talented. I can only go into the game when I'm told to go into the game. I'm not Coach Marrone, I'm the football player. I go into the game when I'm told."
Ironically, Spiller's reasoning for his decreased playing time flies directly in the face of the mentality he professes to have when it comes to speculation of his possibly being traded.
"Just trusting what my eyes see and not overthinking," he said. "That's been the biggest thing on my end, just overthinking it too much instead of going back to that little kid in the backyard, playing with his friends and having fun. I put so much pressure on it.
"It has nothing to do with this being the final year of my contract, it's just overthinking and trying to make that play when I should have just taken what they're giving us...and kept us out of the negative plays."
Spiller is only 28 years old and presumably has a lot of tread left on his tires. If Buffalo were to deal him, there would no doubt be numerous suitors for his services.
But his value is tough to gauge. Spiller has struggled this season, but so has the offense as a whole. E.J. Manuel opened the season as the starter at quarterback, but was recently replaced by Kyle Orton. And the run game - only a year after finishing second in the NFL in rushing yards - currently ranks 21st in the league.
The Trent Richardson trade from last season, that saw the Indianapolis Colts give up a 1st round pick to the Browns in exchange for the running back, offers no real value for comparison - especially considering how poorly Richardson has done since arriving in Indiana.
One possible landing spot for Spiller, the Philadelphia Eagles, reportedly already tried to trade for him in the offseason, but the Bills rebuffed Philly's advances before serious negotiations could begin or a formal offer was made.
But, with Darren Sproles injured, Spiller could almost-too-perfectly fill the all-purpose runner/receiver/returner role that Sproles has thus far handled for the Eagles with a high degree of success.
If recent reports are accurate, Sproles should return from a "slight" MCL tear in only a few weeks. But it can't ever hurt for a team like the Eagles to add another weapon to their stable of playmakers. And Spiller - alongside the likes of Sproles, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin and Zach Ertz - would almost assuredly thrive there.
In the meantime, Spiller says he's sure he'll find a way to right the ship - for his career and his season - whether it is in Buffalo or elsewhere.
"I'm not off to my best start in my career, but I still have all the confidence in the world that I'll be where I want to be when the smoke clears," he said. "Each year is different. Teams, I guess, did a great job studying what we did best, and now I have to counter punch to that, and that's what I'll do."
