Gerald McCoy Chooses To Play The 2019 NFL Season With The Carolina Panthers

By Jordan Long

The Carolina Panthers will have mandatory minicamp next week.  There will be a new face on the defensive line when they report.  Carolina agreed to a contract with free agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy for 1 year, worth up to $10.25 million.

                McCoy was let go by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 20^th.   This saved Tampa Bay $13 million this season, allowing McCoy to pick the team he felt was a fit.  He visited the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens before deciding on the Carolina Panthers.

                According to ESPN, McCoy said, “Carolina was a great fit for me. Being around the guys we just meshed and I love the instant chemistry we had. They have a tradition of having a great defense. I love the players and I believe in #1 [Newton]. Ron Rivera is a proven coach and can’t wait to get started.”

                McCoy is going to help the Carolina Panthers defensive line.  He has played 9 seasons in the NFL, all for Tampa Bay.  McCoy has proven he can pressure the quarterback and take him down for sacks.  McCoy has a total of 54.5 sacks.

                When McCoy blitzes quarterbacks, he forces them to toss the football sooner than they want to.  These become interceptions which could flip the field for the Carolina Panthers.  He can also knock the ball out their hands for fumbles, forcing 6 in his career.  

When it comes to tackling, he rarely misses tackling the quarterback or a running back on running plays.  This can be a loss of yards to make 2^nd and 3^rd downs more difficult to move the chains for 1^st downs.  McCoy totaled 297 tackles in his career.

                The Panthers know what McCoy can do.  They saw him twice a year since the Panthers are in the same division as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  They hope to see the same player they saw in Tampa Bay.  If McCoy can make plays like he did in Tampa, that will go a long way to help Carolina reach the postseason.  The only way this deal isn’t worth it is if McCoy is a step slower and isn’t able to take down the quarterback.  On paper, the Panthers have an athlete who could be the difference for them on defense. emihidden1 \l