The Dallas Cowboys have been reinforcing their defensive interior all offseason and look to be in a good position as they get ready to begin offseason training activities and minicamp. Yesterday, I wrote about the possibility of trading for New York Jets Defensive Tackle Leonard Williams. Another defensive tackle has now become available, long-time Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Tackle Gerald McCoy.
Per a report from Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Bucs are going to release McCoy after nine seasons with the club.
BREAKING: DT Gerald McCoy has been informed by the Bucs of their plans to release him after nine seasons. The team decided not to pay him the $13-million salary he was owed for 2019.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) May 20, 2019
McCoy is the definition of a cap casualty as he was set to make $13 million on the cap this year. At age 30 in 2018, McCoy still had six sacks as the Buccaneers 3-technique defensive tackle.
| Game | Def | Def | Fumb | Fumb | Fumb | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | GS | Int | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits |
| 2010 | 22 | TAM | 13 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 12 |
| 2011 | 23 | TAM | 6 | 1.0 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| 2012* | 24 | TAM | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 | 30 | 23 | 7 | 9 | 15 |
| 2013*+ | 25 | TAM | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9.5 | 50 | 35 | 15 | 15 | 21 |
| 2014* | 26 | TAM | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 | 35 | 28 | 7 | 13 | 13 |
| 2015* | 27 | TAM | 15 | 0 | 1 | 8.5 | 34 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 17 | |||
| 2016* | 28 | TAM | 15 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7.0 | 34 | 25 | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| 2017* | 29 | TAM | 15 | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 47 | 33 | 14 | 13 | 24 | |||
| 2018 | 30 | TAM | 14 | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 28 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 21 | |||
| Care | Care | 123 | 0 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 54.5 | 296 | 218 | 78 | 79 | 140 |
Throughout his career, he’s been one of the more productive defensive tackles in the league. From 2012 to 2017 he was selected to the Pro Bowl six times and was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2013.
Since 2012, McCoy’s averaged 7.2 sacks, 36.8 total tackles, 9.85 tackles for loss, and 17.85 quarterback hits a season. Over the last three seasons, McCoy’s averaged just under seven sacks a season. In 2018, he finished with 38 total pressures, which was 19th among all interior defensive linemen. Only Tyrone Crawford from the Cowboys had nearly as many total pressures on the interior with 37.
Though the Cowboys have brought in Christian Covington, Kerry Hyder, and Trysten Hill to fortify a defensive interior with Maliek Collins, Antwaun Woods, and Tyrone Crawford, Gerald McCoy would make an excellent addition to their rotation. Mike Fisher of 247 Sports is reporting that the Cowboys currently have “very little interest” in the defensive tackle.
That’s plausible. The Dallas Cowboys have a ton of depth on the defensive line at the moment, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t pursue a talented player such as Gerald McCoy. McCoy has been an excellent 3-tech but also has the size to contribute at 1-tech on passing downs if you need him to.
The Dallas Cowboys defensive line has a ton of depth and it may not make sense to bring in a guy like McCoy, but they should. Much like the trade for Robert Quinn, you’re putting your eggs in the 2019 Super Bowl basket and trying to maximize the talent that you have on the roster this year. They’re a team primed to make a deep run in January and McCoy can help them do that.
As in everything, it will come down to the price tag. However, given that the Dallas Cowboys currently have just under $20 million available on the 2019 salary cap, they can get a deal done with McCoy and continue working on the long-term contracts for their star core of players.
Gerald McCoy makes the defense better. He’s another guy along the defensive line, in addition to DeMarcus Lawrence and Robert Quinn, that the offensive line has to think about. He makes things easier for everyone at every level of the defense and shouldn’t cost a ton to sign on a one-year deal.
