Bucs Don’t Want To Play Tag With McCoy
February 17th, 2014
Today marks the start of franchise-tag season, as well as the season for other tags related to NFL rules on retaining players and paying them big cash.
The Bucs, however, don’t have those concerns now. in part because leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman was benched and never became a guy the Bucs wanted to retain.
But next year at this time the Bucs could have a national spotlight on them with Gerald McCoy. Big No. 93, the man Lovie Smith referred to as the “engine” of his defense, will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
If the Bucs and McCoy can’t agree on the massive cash it will take to retain him, then the Bucs could slap the franchise tag on McCoy for 2015, which will cost them 120 percent of McCoy’s 2014 salary, or more than $15 million. And that $15 million or so would count fully toward the 2015 salary cap.
That marks a huge question mark facing the new regime. Jason Licht and Lovie Smith want to build the Bucs intelligently and responsibly, and McCoy is the key cog in the defense, in addition to being a quality face of the franchise. Re-signing McCoy soon could make a lot of sense, but Joe doesn’t know how that could be creatively pulled off in the best interest of all parties.
Given McCoy’s somewhat ancient history of injuries, perhaps the Bucs want to see one healthy season year from him before locking him up long term?
But if Lovie Smith restores the Bucs’ pass rush and uses McCoy to get the most out of him, then McCoy, as Warren Sapp predicts, will turn in a monster 2014 season. Joe could only imagine what McCoy might cost after that.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:47 am
It doesn’t matter, like so many have said, it’s not our money. If we can pay a CB coming off a career threatening ACL a million bucks a game, and not really knowing if he’d ever be the same, then I think we can accommodate McCoy, even with his ancient history of injuries.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:49 am
McCoy is a team guy and I would assume wants to be here. But this is a business, he’s definitely not stupid. Get done with free agency and sign him long term this year while we have the money. I don’t feel he has anything left to prove.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:55 am
If they can get creative with the money GMAC should be locked up for the future. Joe has documented his talent but we should also appreciate the fact that he is a class act.
Football is entertainment. I realize that winning is the biggest component of that “entertainment” for most fans. But I don’t want to be embarrassed by the “athletes” on the team that represents our fair city. We got rid of the Winslows and Talibs and that’s a good thing. But that simply eliminated the negative.
Now it’s time to emphasize the positive. I do not know a more positive Buc that GMac. He’s a class act and is exactly the kind of guy I want representing the Bucs! Sign him up!
February 17th, 2014 at 10:55 am
Extend him now, don’t wait…
February 17th, 2014 at 10:57 am
Resign him with a contract laden with incentives.If he meets them he has earned a massive contract for next year. Can’t complain about that.That means you have the best player at his position in all the NFL. He would command of a kings ransom as one of the biggest trades in Buc history.You would have several quality new players to fill needed positions. Let the games before any required trade line then the Bucs weigh which way will improve the team.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:58 am
Make him a lifetime Bucs. It’s a nice selling point for DE to play along this beast!
February 17th, 2014 at 11:00 am
this is a WIN WIN for both sides IMHO
February 17th, 2014 at 11:23 am
The Tampa2 only works if you pressure the QB. Sign McCoy and put Clowney next to him and you have a combo better than Sapp and Rice. As for Clowney’s attitude, does anyone really think Lovie can’t get all Clowney has to offer out of him? The QB’s out there now are just the best available this year, Clowney is something special. Don’t waste the opportunity to get a real difference maker in Clowney and settle for a QB that is just the best available at the moment.
February 17th, 2014 at 11:23 am
Gerald McCoy has a 2014 cap number of 15.6mil. Namdukong Suh has a cap number of 22.4mil. Suh and the Lions are hard at work, as we speak, trying to hammer out an extension.
The Bucs should wait until the Suh deal is done to get a benchmark, then sit down with McCoy and put something in front of him that is somewhere north of the 5 year 55mil contract for Geno Atkins.
We need to get McCoy locked down now, not wait to see how he plays this year. We’ve seen enough! Pay this man and put 3mil or so back into 2014 cap space. McCoy needs help!
February 17th, 2014 at 11:48 am
Forget the franchise tag. Lock him up with a long term deal, ideally sooner than later. The Bucs have the cap space and he’s the foundation of the defense.
February 17th, 2014 at 11:52 am
I agree with those who say pay GMC now! We can lock him up for 5-6 years, spread his bonus out over that time, free up some cap space in the first couple years, and sit back knowing we have one of the most intimidating and physical DT’s in the game anchoring our defense until 2019 or 2020! No Brainer!
February 17th, 2014 at 11:55 am
Thankful mark is gone or we’d be waiting to see.
February 17th, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Macabee Says
“The Bucs should wait until the Suh deal is done to get a benchmark…”
I disagree. They could get off cheaper by doing it before hand.
I suspect all McCoy will demand is a fair offer. He strikes me as a Derrick Brooks type of guy when it comes to contracts. He’ll want respectful money, but he will be willing to not get paid the most in the league…and he’d likely restructure many times over his career, as Brooks did.
February 17th, 2014 at 12:06 pm
blackmagic00 Says
“Thankful mark is gone or we’d be waiting to see.”
I think you are wrong there. Dominick would have wanted to keep GMC, and Mark was extremely good at contract negotiations. (and trades for that matter)
His faults were solely talent evaluation.
February 17th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
McCoy is MaBoy! Git’r done!
February 17th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Joe,
I’m probably missing something huge here (like cap changes). But how did the Bucs lock up Sapp and the rest of the talent back in the day (pre Gruden)? I say pre-Gruden because we basically sold our “cap” soul for a superbowl.
February 17th, 2014 at 12:47 pm
BuccaneerBonzai,
Don’t be naïve! Imagine for a minute you’re on the team of Ben Dogra and Kelli Masters. Would you really let your client agree to a deal before the Suh deal is done. You seem to imply that because McCoy is a nice guy that he is willing to leave money on the table. That is why he has agents – to keep him from doing something stupid!
Dying to hear your response!
February 17th, 2014 at 1:31 pm
@StPeteBucsFan:
Yours is the best post that I’ve read here on JBF in quite a while. Your points were well stated, and I thank you for that, as I didn’t have to decipher your use of the English language.
I, too, believe that #93 is a great representative of the Buccaneers; I am grateful that he’s ours, and I hope that he plays his entire career in Tampa.
February 17th, 2014 at 1:47 pm
With the new system soon to be in place, his asking price will only go higher. Better to sign him up long term now.
February 17th, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Him and LVD are the top priorities. Drafting Clowney should be our next priority. Screw the 1st round QB, sign Garropolo or Murray later in the draft or wait next year.
I have a dream and it’s Hardy (or Allen/Peppers if he don’t hit the FA market), McCoy, Gholston/Spence and Clowney on the same Dline. Boy that would be good! Much better dream than Manziel dancing around
February 17th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
this is the offseason to do it. in particular, before the lions give Suh the richest DT contract in history, which we would subsequently need to top.
February 17th, 2014 at 4:11 pm
Macabee Says
“Dying to hear your response!”
Not a lot to respond to. The question wasn’t IF they will wait, but if we felt they should. We both disagree on that point. Guess we’ll see how it works out.
But it is not impossible for a player to tell his agent “Get me what you can, but get it done quick. I don’t want to be a distraction.”
Brooks did it. Barber did it. Heck, Lynch even did it at one point.
So it’s not “naïve”, it’s just one of several possibilities.
February 17th, 2014 at 4:12 pm
bucsQcCity Says
“Him and LVD are the top priorities.”
LVD is not a priority. He is not a free agent. Nor is he next year (I don’t think he is anyway).
February 17th, 2014 at 10:10 pm
1 = # of Dominik draft picks that merited an extension.
February 19th, 2014 at 5:13 am
Joe, do you know that Freeman leaked information to the press or are you just defaming the man?