The Cleveland Browns offseason haul has been great, but the team will not be adding Gerald McCoy to the list of new names.
McCoy will sign with the Carolina Panthers, according to multiple reports. He was considering the Browns and Ravens as well.
Former Buccaneers’ DT Gerald McCoy is signing with the Carolina Panthers, per sources.
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The deal is reportedly for 1-year deal worth roughly $8 million, with a chance to make $10 million or so based on playing time and sack incentives, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
McCoy will stay in the division, seeing the Bucs twice. He’ll likely have plenty of motivation after Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said the three-time All-Pro “didn’t fit.”
Bucs will face Gerald McCoy twice in the first six weeks of the season — in Charlotte on a Thursday in Week 2, then in London in Week 6.
Another reason it’s personal now for McCoy is that after spending his entire career with Tampa Bay, the team gave his No. 93 jersey to free agent Ndamukong Suh just a day after his release.
Gerald McCoy left Baltimore thinking he very well might sign there. But Carolina wowed him on his visit; Cam Newton helped recruit McCoy big time, per source. To cap it off, McCoy gets to play his former Bucs team that released him and gave his No. 93 to Ndamukong Suh. Personal.
The Browns had made known their desire to land McCoy known and they were his first stop after being released.
The Browns had been courting McCoy before his release from Tampa Bay. However, the team’s interest grew when the Bucs decided to cut the three-time All-Pro, eliminating what was a whopping $13 million price tag.
Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens said he wanted McCoy to be “all in” if he came to Cleveland to play alongside the likes of Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson on the defensive line.
The Browns have had quite the offseason already, the biggest new name being Odell Beckham Jr.
McCoy has 54.5 sacks and 216 tackles in his career. His best year was in 2009, when he recorded 9.5 sacks, 50 tackles and 15 tackles for loss. McCoy is still one of the top players at the position, but he’s 31 and he hasn’t been an All-Pro talent since 2014. His last Pro Bowl was in 2017.
Earlier in the day, Panthers head coach told the media he thought that his team had a good chance to land McCoy.
“We’d love to have him be part of what we’re doing. I think we’ve got a good chance,” Rivera told reporters Monday. I think all the other teams would say the same thing. We’re just waiting patiently.”
The patience paid off for the Panthers.
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Gerald McCoy Signs With Panthers, Spurns Browns