Veteran free agent running back LeSean McCoy recently joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason.
Unsurprisingly, McCoy had interest from multiple teams. That included the team that originally drafted him back in 2009, the Philadelphia Eagles. So what made the running back choose Tampa Bay?
According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times on Twitter, McCoy reveals exactly that.
LeSean McCoy said that Philly was another situation he was monitoring. But “Tom Brady. Tampa. Warm weather. C’mon”
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) August 4, 2020
Those are some pretty obvious reasons. McCoy is not exactly the same running back he was a few years ago.
At 32, he's not going to be the feature back in an offense. So it is no surprise that the two teams he seemed to have it whittled down to were the Eagles and the Buccaneers. Both are teams with young running backs who can take the brunt of the work.
Philadelphia has Miles Sanders, and Tampa Bay has Ronald Jones.
It was not the running back situation that sold McCoy though. It was the quarterback one.
The Eagles are set up nicely with Carson Wentz. However, the Buccaneers have Tom Brady. Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time. And he already has a handful of Super Bowl rings under his belt.
McCoy won his first in 2019 with the Kansas City Chiefs. And he probably recognizes that he does not have all that long left before hanging his cleats up. So why not go to a team with the GOAT at quarterback?
This gives him a chance at a ring again in 2020. In fact, this probably gives him one of the best possible chances at a ring again in 2020.
Oh, and as he mentions, the area is a little bit of a sell. Nothing against Philadelphia, but if you're looking for nice weather year-round, Tampa Bay has quite an advantage over the City of Brotherly Love.
McCoy should still contribute to the team. Last year he managed 4.6 yards per carry (465 yards on 101 attempts) and four touchdowns. He also had 28 receptions for 181 yards and one touchdown.
And he managed to do all of that despite appearing in just 13 games and having multiple other running backs to contend with.
McCoy should be able to put up similar production, and once again finds himself on a Super Bowl contending team.
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