A Gerald McCoy Return?
March 4th, 2021
Joe is not trying to cause traffic accidents and induce diarrhea among a sect of Bucs fans.
However, this did appear on NFL.com and it’s certainly not ridiculously farfetched.
The league website did a bit of free agency matchmaking for every NFL team. Joe bought into the click and to Joe’s surprise, there appeared a “match” for Tampa Bay in free agency.
It’s a familiar face: six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy.
The Buccaneers are spending the weeks ahead figuring out how to keep each and every one of the players Bruce Arians declared aren’t going anywhere during their Super Bowl boat parade, but they also need depth along the interior defensive line. McCoy can be had for cheap, considering his last stop didn’t go very well (his contract was terminated by the Cowboys after suffering a ruptured quadriceps in August), and it would also make for a nice homecoming. Sure, he missed out on a ring with the Buccaneers in 2020, but why not close out his career chasing one with the same team for which he once starred?
Author Nick Shook is likely correct when he says “McCoy can be had for cheap.” That’s a given for any 33-year-old defensive tackle coming off a major injury.
But making this most interesting to Joe are three factors:
First, McCoy is a beloved figure by many in the Bucs locker room to this day, and he’s quite friendly with his draft-year buddy and former rival Ndamukong Suh.
Second, McCoy is exactly the kind of nostalgic guy who would love a return to his former team, soaking up the spotlight of a sea of prime-time games, playing with Tom Brady and potentially adding a ring to his impressive career — at a discount.
Third, DT Rakeem Nuñez-Roches earned $1.5 million last season and it’s a solid bet that another team will be willing to give him a hearty raise in free agency after making 11 regular-season starts for the Bucs. So the Bucs may indeed be seeking inexpensive and experienced defensive line help.
Joe knows McCoy plans to continue his career but cannot speak to McCoy’s health. However, Joe does know a McCoy return would be great theater, and certainly a move with great potential upside if McCoy could recapture some of his former glory.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:23 am
love it, did he leave on good terms bruce never called him soft directly right?
March 4th, 2021 at 11:24 am
Nope. Too soft.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:25 am
Main reason this won’t happen: McCoy will go to highest bidder and that won’t be the Bucs.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:33 am
In a reserve role and for cheap, maybe. Other than that, hard pass.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:35 am
Not unless it is for the league minimum salary for one year only.
Other than that no thanks.
I believe he is done in the NFL. He needs to ride off into the sunset in his batmobile… Maybe open a soft serve icecream shop.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:36 am
3-13 then
March 4th, 2021 at 11:37 am
Nooooooooooo
March 4th, 2021 at 11:37 am
I’d like to see RB by committee:
1. Between the tackles slasher, who can break off big plays (RoJo)
2. Third down/passing down RB (James White)
3. Short-yardage bulldozer, when you need 1-2 yards on third down or third and goal to go from short.
I don’t think Shady is a fit within those roles for 2021.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:37 am
it’d be cancer back …out of remission
March 4th, 2021 at 11:37 am
Hard pass.
Injury prone
do a gap plugger
mostly doesn’t have any nasty in him.
nasty is what this team learned last year. take no prisoners….and we don’t need him singing gleefully after a loss…. I can just picture that guy from talladega nights… “let’s look at the bright side”……
March 4th, 2021 at 11:38 am
The Bucs are supposed to be getting younger in the front seven. Plus he’s soft. Sorry. Cool dude, but the Bucs line now is nasty, choke slam Aaron Rodgers nasty. This dude dilutes that.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:39 am
not a gap plugger. he’s a finness guy; we need brick walls
March 4th, 2021 at 11:39 am
Sorry, I misread… damn, need coffee. I thought Joe was talking Shady McCoy… to which I thought NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
March 4th, 2021 at 11:43 am
Unfortunately, it took too long for Jason Licht to build a solid defense around McCoy and his best years were completely wasted. I wish he had been able to win the ring here…he stuck it out for a long time and earned it.
That said, there is nothing left in his tank.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:47 am
And if we resign Suh…who would wear 93???
Superbowl winner Suh gets my vote. That would definitely be an interesting discussion as poor McCoy was buthurt that they gave him his #
March 4th, 2021 at 11:47 am
If McCoy was willing to GIVE $15 million to play for the Bucs, and then hand that briefcase of cash over to Shaq or Godwin, then maybe.
March 4th, 2021 at 11:57 am
Bum not needed
March 4th, 2021 at 11:57 am
absolutely NO!!!!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
March 4th, 2021 at 11:57 am
no to gmc he was seen crying and praying and carrying on the sidelines–no!
March 4th, 2021 at 12:02 pm
McCoy had knee and quad tendon issues prior to the rupture, he couldn’t even make it past camp. Surgery can repair the damage done, but his condition is degenerative. He’s a camp invite and a minimum contract with no guarantees.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:05 pm
Why this won’t happen in a million years:
— Arians knows who GMC is and doesn’t want his nice and soft attitude on the team.
— GMC is weak against the run.
— JPP would have a fit, as GMC tapped himself out of games at critical times. Somewhere there is footage of JPP going off about GMC.
— GMC has never taken over a game in the 4th quarter. Never.
The only “brother” Gerald has left on the defense is LaVonte. And he will likely (and foolishly for the Bucs) be gone.
Nick Shook wrote that with about as much forethought as I just gave to the dump I just took. No thanks to Gerald, nice guy, great babysitter. Mediocre d-lineman whose best days weren’t that great and those are in the rear view mirror,
I’d much rather keep Nacho.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:05 pm
MarineBuc,
Exactly!
March 4th, 2021 at 12:08 pm
I’m pretty sure we can draft someone that can be not only depth, but part of the rotation. But, if there is anyone that could squeeze some fight out of GMC, it would be Tom Brady and possibly trying to compete with Suh (If Suh is back).
For vet minimum, why not? I don’t see too many holes on the roster where he would take away a roster spot from someone who could contribute right away. And nobody would expect much out of him anyway, so I think we could dial down the hate a little for a season.
There’s not gonna be any ice cream trucks at a Tom Brady practice.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:09 pm
0.000% chance of this happening. McCoy was the first player BA jettisoned to change culture.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:18 pm
Never was a GMC lover or hater….but on general principles, I’d like to see us drafting a DT…….
Who could say GMC would’t be as good as McLendon…..but still, no thanks.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:20 pm
What number would he wear?
March 4th, 2021 at 12:23 pm
‘Great theater’ doesn’t win Super Bowls Joe. GMC was a good player at one time, but there are lots of ‘good players’ out there. Pass.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:30 pm
HELL NO.
We finally have a team with toughness and that cares about winning. Neither of those things fits with McCoy. Keep him as far away from this locker room as possible.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:30 pm
Yah. Thats bowles cAll. And not sure he fits bowles inside gap pluggers / stopping the run kinda guy.
Surprised no tmax comment yet
Must have been a late night of meth usage
March 4th, 2021 at 12:31 pm
GMC is a good dude, but don’t think he would help much.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:33 pm
pass
March 4th, 2021 at 12:36 pm
No
March 4th, 2021 at 12:42 pm
No thank you, GMC is done in my book.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:46 pm
McCoy should pay the Bucs for a spot on this team, he owes the team money back already! Cancer 93
March 4th, 2021 at 12:48 pm
ABSO-FKING-LUTELY not. Horrible scheme fit. Can’t hold up against the run and soft tissue injuries will be the story of his life now with his holier-than-thou vegan diet.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:50 pm
He’s another chronic quad injury waiting to happen.
His time is over.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:52 pm
He’s not likely to be among my top dozen FA DL. This being a weird cap season, I have no idea what the market on 1 year contracts will be. I’d rather resign either/both Roches or McLendon. I like Roches and would try to keep him. McLendon is older than GMC, but would still be above him on my list. Both those guys showed at least the potential to hold up snaps at nose. Still, whoever is willing to play at a minimum type contact will be a realistic option. Probably not until after the draft. GMC would be coming in as a rotational backup. I doubt we’re worried about him making the locker room soft.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:57 pm
McCoy already stole $100,000,000.00 Million dollars from the bucs. No
March 4th, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Nope.
March 4th, 2021 at 1:03 pm
It’s like bringing BACK JW. All Bucs did with them was lose!
March 4th, 2021 at 1:06 pm
I bet he’d give the Bucs at least a $1million discount on his salary
March 4th, 2021 at 1:15 pm
Frankly… I don’t think it would be a bad idea. He always had talent…and with guys like Suh and Brady encouraging him to let it go, I think he could do a fine job. And you don’t think he would put it all on the field to win one with the team he still loves?
March 4th, 2021 at 1:16 pm
I love it, he was one of the best defensive players in the NFL and for some reason the idiots here hated him because he read comic books. Probably too much a reflection on themselves and what losers they are, it’s overwhelming to see a nerd like McCoy so happy and rich, it just triggers them.
March 4th, 2021 at 1:17 pm
Can’t remember one single snap where he made a difference
March 4th, 2021 at 1:21 pm
TampaTown Says:
March 4th, 2021 at 12:20 pm
What number would he wear?
________
How about #39 since he is the exact opposite of Suh.
____
Anywho…. some people like to use the same lame excuses for The Softness.
Fans that don’t like Gerry the Clown do so because he’s a pu$$y.
It’s got nothing to do with comic books.
That’s just frosting on top of the fruit cake!
March 4th, 2021 at 1:35 pm
I think it’s a great idea! These people seem to forget that the Bucs have had a great run defense for a while now and that was mostly due to the play of 93
March 4th, 2021 at 1:39 pm
such creativity in this topic….absolutely useless….really was to trigger us “rightfully” hateful, ice cream man haters….he’s the face of a lost decade or more…forgotten the day he left
March 4th, 2021 at 1:43 pm
A shame that Suh would have to give up #93 lol.
March 4th, 2021 at 1:50 pm
No thanks. Not even if he’s willing to work for league minimum. In fact, I’d be willing to organize a GoFundMe to pay him to stay away from Tampa. You think it’s an accident his teams lost? You think it’s an accident we won last year? No.
The reason Brady wins is because to him LOSING IS UNACCEPTABLE. To McCoy its — oh well, we’ll get em next time guys.
Is he a nice guy? A family guy? You bet. I’d love to have people like him in the community. Just stay out of the locker room.
March 4th, 2021 at 1:53 pm
A strange case of the national sports media building a player up for whatever reason, and yet he never did pass the “Eye” test with his performance on the field. Bizarre
March 4th, 2021 at 2:02 pm
As soon as I read the headline, I had to run to the toilet.
March 4th, 2021 at 2:06 pm
can anyone remember GMC’s “signature game?” I can name like 5 Sapp games, about a dozen Brooks games, 3-4 Lynch games…..
Was there a single game in his time here when he went crazy and took over a game from his position? He was so utterly forgettable.
March 4th, 2021 at 2:15 pm
NO
PLEASE NO
His attitude is exactly the opposite of what is being built.Not to mention he is constantly injured.
March 4th, 2021 at 2:29 pm
With no comment here, TMax has officially gone to the great beyond.
March 4th, 2021 at 2:35 pm
we finally changed the culture at one Buc. let’s not go in the opposite direction Joe.
March 4th, 2021 at 3:12 pm
Hell yeah! It’d be a good move. If healthy, Gerald can rush the passer!! Do it Licht!! Screw the haters here!
March 4th, 2021 at 3:21 pm
Never say never. Nunez-Roches will get a better offer and leave. Can’t blame him. Mccoy might be a welcomed addition if cheap. But I got another team paying him more than the Bucs will. But you never know…..Gerald is still quite serviceable.
March 4th, 2021 at 3:27 pm
With the defense we had on the field this season. And Todd Bowles as D coordinator. I’m sure there are free agents that would be excited to come play for Tampa. Either a promising young D-lineman that hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time for what ever reason. Or a Veteran looking for a change of scenery and a chance at a trip to play in the Superbowl.
I don’t dislike McCoy but after his ridiculously fast first step. He would usually be stood up and end up playing peek a boo with the QB. He just didn’t seem to generate the kind of push you would expect from a 6 time probowler. Don’t get me wrong he has moves. But they were largely ineffective if he didn’t beat the O-line with his first step. Coincidentally his fast first step opened a running lane for the offense to exploit. You wanna beat McCoy run right at him because by the time the running back gets there McCoy has left a hole wide open.
If he did come back to Tampa I would hope the contract is team friendly. It would be interesting to see what he could do with Vita Vea next to him. So far it sounds far fetched? But hey I thought Brady was using Tampa as leverage to get better offers from other teams back when he was a free agent. I was wrong about that. Lol
March 4th, 2021 at 3:40 pm
This is the same guy who laughed at TB12 on the 4 down novel and said something about the BUcs missing JW…The chance he will return is exactly Zero…..None….Thx god!!!
The guy who said this should be payiong attention of what kind of drugs he is taking…..Has no clue…..The problem is that there are plenty of this type….
March 4th, 2021 at 3:51 pm
I remember Softie’s Signature game.
It was against the Steelers.
“My bad Ben”
Perfect summation of a career loser.
March 4th, 2021 at 5:03 pm
i would say no but ill be cool with it if suh is back too
March 4th, 2021 at 5:03 pm
PassingThru…
You didn’t misread. You didn’t even read.
March 4th, 2021 at 5:29 pm
Personally I love it, I do believe that he said that he would be interested in playing for Tampa again right after leaving. Also still appears to be very close with some of his Bucs locker mates still
March 4th, 2021 at 5:57 pm
On the cheap and for depth I’d go for it.
March 4th, 2021 at 6:09 pm
Pass. Let him retire a Buc, but that is all.
March 4th, 2021 at 7:08 pm
We flushed a turd and some of you want it back.
March 4th, 2021 at 7:10 pm
Everywhere McCoy went, the defense got worse. A LOT worse.
March 4th, 2021 at 7:43 pm
He would definitely add solid depth along the line. He’s had a lot of torn muscles over the years though, that would be worrisome.
I didn’t realize Roches was also a FA! That sucks. He proved himself to be an integral part of that rotation this year
March 4th, 2021 at 8:01 pm
He can retire a Panther
March 4th, 2021 at 8:03 pm
I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t get the vet minimum somewhere, but it won’t be with the Bucs and it will be wasted money for whoever spends it. Let him go to the Rams so he can see what a 3-tech is supposed to play like.
March 4th, 2021 at 8:33 pm
It would feel pretty great if the Bucs team could snag another Super Bowl win and GMC would be on it.
March 4th, 2021 at 8:57 pm
^ No it wouldn’t.
This franchise owes McCoy absolutely nothing.
However the ardument could be made that McCoy owes
the Bucs a refund.
The contrast in the attitudes between guys like JPP/Suh and Geraldine
couldn’t be more stark. Gerald would be a pink rainbow square peg
in a round hole on this team. He would not fit in. He would never buy into
JPP/Suhs warrior mentailty and those 2 guys would never tolerate the softness
March 4th, 2021 at 9:33 pm
Veteran minimum as a back- up. Sure why not .
March 4th, 2021 at 9:43 pm
I see what you did here Joe. You knew the comments would be pure gold and my fellow Bucs fans did not disappoint. Ride off into the sunset and open up a soft serve ice cream shop. LMAO.
March 4th, 2021 at 10:20 pm
Like they say en español: “no!”
March 4th, 2021 at 10:50 pm
If hes a back up would be fine..
March 4th, 2021 at 11:03 pm
Gerald is the guy you call on a hotline if you’re depressed and you want someone to love you and tell you everything will be ok. A soft, reassuring voice.
If you called JPP and Suh they would just tell you to harden the f*** up
March 4th, 2021 at 11:24 pm
I love the thought and would love it became reality even more. McCoy may not be what it used to be the McCoy ain’t done either and he gave his best years for some of Tampa’s modern worst years. It would be great to see him come and give good help for back-to-back ring. As like Mike Evans levante David and others he stuck it out through some tough times I think he even deserves it. But have no doubt he would earn it if we got him back baring he can pass all exams and physicals showing he healed from last year’s injury without lingering effects
March 4th, 2021 at 11:52 pm
Did it ever occur to you that the two might be highly correlated?
March 5th, 2021 at 8:14 am
If we needed to get softer, this would be a great move. Not sure that’s where we’re headed though. I honestly don’t get that this guy is some treasured part of Bucs lore to some. I see him as a contributor to the losing culture we just shook.
March 5th, 2021 at 9:42 am
Talk about click bait, Joe! nice.
March 5th, 2021 at 10:34 am
do not waste one penny on this guy that could be going towards Levontae David. Mccoy has done nothing in last three years? why waste money on someone that is not the future and take away from a rookie to develop? a sympathy signing is that what we do? he will come here crying about wanting number 93 of a hall of famer…. Bruce Arians says he RELOADS, mccoy signing is not reloading. this is a guy that got paid millions by bucs and he never once dominated a game. I sat in stands waiting every week his name to be called. He is not a game changer but got paid like one. He is making nice because he knows the most he will get out of NFL is trying to get in to ring of honor, another thing he should never be on. He is forgetable and the fans that go to games already forgot him. The impact by Veta is way more. and who loves him in locker room? only two guys played with him more than 2 years….give me a break.
March 5th, 2021 at 10:37 am
Haters gonna hate. Bring him back baby!
March 5th, 2021 at 11:16 am
Man, seems like people here have forgotten what this guy did for us. He was an all pro type player when we had top 10 picks year after year. 2-14 and the guy didn’t complain. He instead put the team on his back. His career was heavily affected by the fact that he had no one around him. OLs constantly double and triple teamed him. And the ‘soft’ tag is a fan prejudice that’s just ridiculous at this point. Any player that weekly gets into 50-60 car crashes and can get 8+ sacks in the NFL just can’t be soft.
March 5th, 2021 at 12:33 pm
Did we forget Gerald doesn’t play 3-4 defense
March 5th, 2021 at 12:37 pm
I’d love to see Suh smack the ice cream cone out of softy’s hand in the parking lot as he walks in to one Buc wearing #93. Gerald is a detriment with a loser mentality who just wants to have fun. Brady wants winners, it’s only fun if you’re holding the trophy at the end.
March 5th, 2021 at 3:58 pm
Impossible and silly, he was never a run defender so the guy he’d be replacing has more value. Besides his career long number is taken, no way he comes back to the team that drafted him and take a different number. Suh is a super bowl champion so no reason to give it up
March 5th, 2021 at 4:59 pm
There must be better, cheaper, younger. As long as Suh is in the team he will keep #93 so I don’t see Mccoy back and would not speak well of his ego. It would be soft, not a Big Girl move. Maybe DT at 32 in the draft…
March 5th, 2021 at 7:27 pm
Too bad kwon Alexander ruptured Achilles in December bc he could be a nice addition with LD and Minter FAs. Kwon is glass but has always played well when available. He could be good depth or solid starter if healthy and if LD leaves, while Bucs could supplement the position with drafting as well.