Gerald McCoy: Trade or Release

As sad as it is, it’s time for all of us Bucs fans to come to the realization that Gerald McCoy’s time in Tampa Bay is coming to an end very soon. In my opinion, he is still one of the top five interior defensive linemen in the NFL, but the time has come to make a difficult choice.

The clock is ticking. Currently, the Buccaneers don’t have enough salary cap room to sign their 2019 draft picks. Feel free to blame that on who you will (*cough Jason Licht cough*). They need to do something between now and the first day of the 2019 NFL Draft to open up some cap room. Getting rid of Gerald McCoy seems like the most obvious and most logical thing to do right now.

As much as it hurts to lose him because he is a fan favorite and has been a staple on the Buccaneers defense since being drafted by the Bucs in 2010, it is the right time for Tampa Bay and McCoy to part ways. Gerald McCoy is on the wrong side of 30, as he is currently 31-years old and now that the Bucs are mainly going to be running a 3-4 hybrid style defense, McCoy doesn’t fit the scheme as well as the 4-3 base.

Now the question is, do the Bucs trade McCoy and try to get something for him or do they release him? Surprisingly, so far, there haven’t been very many suitors seeking McCoy’s services in a trade. There are some fans who believe that he will be traded at some point during the draft in an effort for the Bucs to acquire more picks. It’s all going to depend on what kind of offers the Bucs will receive in return for McCoy, but something definitely needs to happen soon.

Right now, the Bucs still have a lot of money tied up into McCoy, as he is one of their biggest assets, not just on defense, but on the team, so if a deal is unable to be worked out, look for the Bucs to outright release McCoy to free up some cap space. For now, the Glazer brothers, Jason Licht, and the rest of the Buccaneers front office will continue to field trade calls for McCoy. We will know soon enough.