Gerald McCoy really wanted to stay in the NFC South.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, McCoy, who signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Carolina Panthers on Monday, left a lot of guaranteed money on the table in signing with the Panthers.
The team that was suspected to have offered McCoy more money was the Baltimore Ravens.
Rapoport mentioned that the defensive lineman did, in fact, want to stay down south and also noted that McCoy was really impressed with the Panthers during his meeting with the club last Friday.
McCoy was said to have liked both the Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, with some even speculating that he was most likely to sign with one of those two squads. However, Rapoport notes that the 31-year-old “wasn't so sure” about either city.
The Oklahoma City native was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month after spending the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the franchise. He is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played 14 games and registered 28 tackles and six sacks.
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.
He was a Pro Bowler by his third season, recording 30 tackles and five sacks. McCoy then went on to make six straight Pro Bowl appearances overall, with his best year coming in 2013 when he racked up 50 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery. notching First-Team All-Pro honors in the process.
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