Former Buffalo Bills RB Has Died

The Buffalo Bills organization and fans remember 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 five consecutive Pro Bowl nods, and finished his Rams tenure as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher with 6,186 yards at the time.

In Buffalo, McCutcheon provided veteran depth behind the emerging Joe Cribbs and others on a competitive 1981 squad.

He appeared in six games with three starts, rushing 34 times for 138 yards (4.1 average) and catching 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 brief, 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 later returned to the Rams organization in 1982 and spent more than three decades in their front office, eventually serving as director of player personnel until his retirement in 2016.

For Bills fans, McCutcheon remains a link to an era when Knox was building a resilient, run-oriented contender in Buffalo.

The organization extends its condolences to the McCutcheon family.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.