Getty Former Bucs star Gerald McCoy greets Drew Brees after a 2018 game.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers captain and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy took to one of his favorite leisure activities shortly after retirement on Friday, April 14.
McCoy, 35, who announced his retirement on social media, made a bold prediction for the NBA playoff matchup between the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers — his favorite basketball team.
“Ok now that’s out the way, my analyst hat is all the way on. First order of business. The Lakers will beat the Grizzlies in six. Now off to TV! See y’all soon,” McCoy tweeted on Friday evening.
Ok now that’s out the way my analyst hat is ALL THE WAY ON!! 1st order of business………………. THE LAKERS WILL BEAT THE GRIZZLIES IN 6…………. Now off to TV!! See y’all soon………………
LeBron James and the Lakers open the playoffs against Ja Morant and the Grizzlies on April 16. McCoy, a longtime Lakers fan, shared about his interest in the team for The Players’ Tribune in 2020.
“I’m a Lakers guy. I’ve always been a Lakers fan. It wasn’t just Kobe [Bryant] — I obviously love Kobe, but I still rocked with the Lakers even when Kobe retired,” McCoy wrote for The Players Tribune.
McCoy grew up in Oklahoma City where he became the 2005 USA Today National Defensive Player of the Year in high school. He played at Oklahoma for college from 2006 to 2009 before the Bucs drafted him with the No. 3 pick in the 2010 draft.
His time with the the Bucs included six-consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and one All-Pro honor. He tallied 54.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 22 pass deflections, and 297 tackles in 123 career games with the Bucs.
Despite McCoy’s success in Tampa, the Bucs released him in 2019 because of salary cap constraints. His contract had a $13 million cap hit, and the Bucs didn’t ask him to take a pay cut according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times in 2019.
Gerald McCoy Finished NFL Career With 3 Different Teams
McCoy maintained that he wanted to stay in an interview with Spectrum Bay News 9 via Stroud. Instead, McCoy hit the free agent market and signed with the Carolina Panthers for 2019. He garnered five sacks and 37 tackles in a full season with the team, which included a game where he sacked former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston twice and assisted on another.
After a year in Carolina, McCoy joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, but his time there ended abruptly with a ruptured quadriceps. The Cowboys released him during training camp, and he didn’t play in 2020.
McCoy spent his final season in 2021 with the Las Vegas Raiders. He played only nine defensive snaps in one game before a season-ending knee injury. He didn’t return to play in the 2022 season.
Gerald McCoy’s Number Raises Question About Ring of Honor Hopes
Whether or not McCoy will make the Bucs ring of honor at Raymond James Stadium remains to be seen, but the Bucs didn’t save his number.
After his release, the Bucs gave his number to defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, which didn’t go over well with McCoy. In a 2019 interview with FS1’s “Undisputed”, McCoy voiced his thoughts on the matter.
“When Sapp, Lynch, Brooks, Selmon, Barber left, nobody wore their number. It was a sign of respect. … I’m one of the best players to ever play in the organization. It kind of shows the respect and how they felt about me.”
@Geraldini93 on the Bucs giving Ndamukong Suh #93
“As far as signing him, organizations have to do what they have to do when you let a player of my caliber go, so I understand that,” McCoy told the “Undisputed” hosts. “But as far as giving away my number, in the history of the Bucs, they have a ring of honor and all of the greatest players in the organization usually get their numbers retired.”
Suh notably helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl in the 2020 season. McCoy played for the Bucs during a 13-year playoff drought.