Former Buffalo Bills RB Dies After Long Illness

Buffalo Bills fans and the wider NFL community are remembering Lawrence McCutcheon, the veteran running back who closed his playing career in Western New York, following his death on October 23, 2026, at age 76.

His family announced that he passed away after a long, courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease.

McCutcheon, nicknamed “Clutch,” joined the Bills in 1981 specifically to reunite with head coach Chuck Knox, under whom he had thrived earlier in his career.

The five-time Pro Bowl back, drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1972 out of Colorado State, had been the engine of Knox’s productive “Ground Chuck” offense in Los Angeles from 1973 to 1977.

He led the Rams in rushing each of those seasons, earned Pro Bowl honors every year, and posted four 1,000-yard campaigns while helping the team win the NFC West repeatedly.

His stint in Buffalo was brief. Appearing in six games with three starts, McCutcheon rushed 34 times for 138 yards (4.1 average) and caught five passes for 40 yards.

The Bills finished 10-6 under Knox, secured a playoff berth, defeated the New York Jets in the Wild Card round for their first postseason win in years, and fell to the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round.

McCutcheon was placed on injured reserve in mid-October and did not appear in the postseason.

Though his time in Buffalo was short, it represented a meaningful full-circle moment for a player whose peak years came under the same coach.

McCutcheon’s overall career totals included 1,521 carries for 6,578 yards and 26 touchdowns, plus 198 receptions for 1,799 yards and 13 scores across 109 games.

He finished his Rams playing tenure as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher (a mark later surpassed) and famously threw a 24-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl XIV.

After retiring, he spent 32 years in the Rams’ front office, rising to director of player personnel.

The Rams organization and his family paid tribute to a man whose impact spanned generations on the field and in the personnel department. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

For Bills supporters, McCutcheon remains a link to the Knox era—a reminder of the veteran talent that briefly reinforced the roster as Buffalo began to reassert itself in the early 1980s.

The organization and fans extend their condolences to the McCutcheon family.