It seems clear that Gerald McCoy had plenty of suitors in his somewhat brief free agency, but his decision, in some respects, appears to be about gaining a little revenge on his former team.
The defensive tackle was released by the Buccaneers last month, and on Monday he reportedly agreed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal with Tampa Bay’s division rival, the Carolina Panthers.
Among the reported suitors in addition to the Panthers was the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. And after news broke of McCoy’s agreement with Carolina, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport explained why McCoy chose the Panthers.
As indicated above, McCoy essentially chose the Panthers for less money in part because of a grudge. Tampa recently signed Ndamukong Suh to fill McCoy’s void, and they it gave him McCoy’s old number to boot, so you can understand why McCoy might have revenge on the mind.
So, it appears Panthers-Bucs games are going to be a must-watch this year.
