The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are planning to release veteran defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, according to a Monday evening report from Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. As a result, McCoy will now begin to seek his second NFL home after spending his first nine seasons atop the highest level as a member of the Buccaneers.
While just about every single NFL franchise could use the services of the veteran defensive lineman, three teams, in particular, may want to pounce on McCoy sooner rather than later.
Although the Tennessee Titans currently employ another veteran defensive tackle in Jurrell Casey, the AFC South franchise still needs to solidify the spot right next to Casey along the defensive front. The Titans used the team's first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to select former Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, though the soon-to-be rookie remains slated to miss significant time due to a lingering knee injury. As a result, the Titans need some help in a hurry if Tennessee is going to compete in the very competitive AFC South.
With the possibility of having two Pro Bowlers up the middle if McCoy can join Casey, it would certainly be hard to run the football on the Titans, who do a pretty good job of running the football themselves.
However, it is also worth noting that because Simmons is eventually expected to become a force at the NFL level, perhaps Tennessee wouldn't be willing to commit more than a year or two to a player like McCoy, which could prevent them from ultimately signing him. Even so, a player of this caliber could immediately help a franchise looking to reach the postseason in 2019 with the ailing Simmons serving as part of the future plans more so than the present. On the other hand, the Titans do have the fifth-most available salary cap space in the league at the moment while inking McCoy to a long-term deal would not only give Tennessee a sound player up front, but also another mentor for the aforementioned Simmons going forward.
The Los Angeles Rams notably reached the Super Bowl last season, though the upstart NFC West franchise was ultimately unable to finish off what quickly became a memorable season. Los Angeles was then unable to retain a vital member of the team's defensive front this offseason as veteran defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is currently an unrestricted free agent.
Because Suh doesn't appear to be headed back to the West Coast anytime soon, perhaps former Buccaneers defensive tackle McCoy could step in to form quite the formidable tandem alongside an All-Pro in Aaron Donald. Even though the high-powered Rams offense typically hogs the majority of the spotlight, it is the team's defense that makes Los Angeles one of the scariest teams in the entire league. If McCoy is added to the fold going forward, one can expect the Rams to continue to emerge out of the NFC come playoff time.
Would it be a discussion about a coveted veteran player if the New England Patriots weren't involved? With longtime Buccaneers defensive tackle McCoy becoming available, the Patriots could jump on the opportunity to sign the seasoned defender en route to solidifying the team's defensive core.
Although the Patriots just managed to re-sign another defensive tackle in Danny Shelton, a one-year deal with the possibility of winning a championship probably wouldn't sound too bad to McCoy at this point in his NFL playing career. Not only that, but joining a deep Patriots team could allow the 31-year-old to consciously limit his reps as he certainly isn't getting any younger these days. Because the Patriots can offer the chance of almost surely making a deep playoff run, fewer reps and less money could entice McCoy in the end.
After spending nine seasons in Tampa Bay and failing to reach the postseason each time, the perennial Pro Bowler could pick and choose which contender ultimately acquires him this offseason. With that in mind, is there a better place to land than New England if winning is the most important thing at stake? Not only that, but could the Patriots attempt to sign McCoy to prevent him from signing with another contender? It certainly sounds like something future Hall of Fame head coach Bill Belichick would do.
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