Gerald McCoy has only played in a Tampa Bay uniform since being the third overall pick in the 2010 draft – and he’s been extremely successful anchoring the Bucs’ defensive line with 54.5 sacks and 296 tackles, including 79 tackles for loss over his past nine seasons.
If the Panthers get their wish, he’ll twice get to play opposite the team he made six consecutive Pro Bowls, as Joe Person of The Athletic has reported that the Panthers, who expressed interest in McCoy when he was released by the Bucs last week, have intensified their attempts to sign the defensive tackle and appear set to visit with the 31-year old McCoy on Friday of this week.
While offers are said to be as high as $11m per year for the 6-4, 300 pound tackle who has had 12 sacks over the past two seasons and would assumedly start next to Dontari Poe and Kawann Short in the Panthers three-man front, the Panthers will gain $7.5m in cap relief over the weekend as their release of left tackle Matt Kalil – which was designated as a post-June 1st roster move – will come to fruition. However, a cap hit in the double digits for an interior pass rusher may still be too high for the Panthers, who only have $9.8m in cap space currently and still have their first two draft picks to sign.
McCoy has already met with two teams from the AFC North this week, spending time in both Cleveland and Baltimore – while at least one of those visits was described as ‘A+++’, perhaps the lure of playing his former team, which released him in order to save his $13m salary cap hit, twice in his first season in another uniform would put an extra checkmark in the Panthers’ column as McCoy makes his decision.
The former Buc would take the place of either 2015 first-round pick Vernon Butler or veteran Kyle Love, neither of whom are signed past the 2019 season, in the starting lineup – another factor which may play a small role would be the addition of McCoy to the Panthers’ compensatory pick formula. A one-year deal in Carolina followed by a large contract elsewhere would net the Panthers a mid-round pick in the 2021 draft, making the free agent addition something which would help Marty Hurney and Ron Rivera, who are almost certainly in win-now mode after a 7-9 season under new owner David Tepper, in both the present and the future.
“That’s all stuff that’s probably a better question for Marty,” said Ron Rivera this week when asked about McCoy. “I think a guy with his ability could come in and help most certainly. But again, it’s something that we’ll have to see.”
