The situation between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and long-time defensive lineman Gerald McCoy is certainly an odd one.
New head coach Bruce Arians has not committed to McCoy actually being on the team going into 2019, owner Jason Licht doesn't seem sure about it, and now, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is avoiding talking about McCoy.
When asked whether or not Bowles wants McCoy on his defense, Bowles would only say that that decision is “above my paygrade,” according to JoeBucsFan.com.
It's hard to figure out just exactly what is going on here.
While McCoy took a bit of a step back this past season, he was still productive, finishing with 28 tackles and six sacks in 14 games. Not only that, but he has been a member of the Buccaneers' defense ever since he first came into the league back in 2010.
Since then, the 31-year-old has made six Pro Bowl appearances, with all of those trips coming between 2012 and 2017. In addition, McCoy was named a First-Team All-Pro back in 2013.
So, he is a fixture on the defense and he is still productive. What's the problem?
And even if Tampa Bay does not want to bring back McCoy for 2019, wouldn't the Bucs be better served saying good things about McCoy to increase his trade value?
This entire situation doesn't seem to make much sense.
McCoy, who played his collegiate football at the University of Oklahoma, was originally selected by the Buccaneers with the third overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Tampa Bay has not made the playoffs since the 2007-08 campaign, representing the longest active drought in the NFC.
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