It hasn’t necessarily been a secret, but it also hasn’t been widely reported, either.
On Wednesday, in response to a Twitter link from a Rick Stroud story about Gerald McCoy missing the first day of OTA workouts, Michael Lombardi, an NFL writer from The Athletic, tweeted what many have been speculating.
They are shopping him hard, but getting little interest—Gerald McCoy not attending first day of Bucs’ off-season workouts https://t.co/22MxvDRMtm
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiuncgm) April 3, 2019
McCoy has not played to the level of his salary the last few years which makes teams reluctant. Hard to trade 13 million dollar contract if the player is not playing at a Pro Bowl level.
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiuncgm) April 3, 2019
PewterReport.com’s Scott Reynolds posed the idea of a trade recently, but Lombardi is the first national source we have seen to suggest the team is actively shopping the six-time Pro Bowler.
McCoy is due $13 million and the Bucs are cap-strapped with less than $3 million worth of salary cap space. Releasing – or trading – McCoy would give Tampa Bay the salary cap space needed to sign the team’s upcoming draft picks, sign a few more free agents, and have some reserve money for in-season transactions.
Head coach Bruce Arians was frank when speaking about McCoy last week in Arizona, and while he nor general manager Jason Licht would come out and say it, the likelihood of McCoy being on the roster to start the season, appears more and more unlikely.
Mark Cook currently is the director of editorial content and Bucs beat writer and has written for PewterReport.com since 2011. Cook has followed the Buccaneers since 1977 when he first began watching football with his Dad and is fond of the 1979 Bucs team that came within 10 points of going to a Super Bowl. His favorite Bucs game is still the 1979 divisional playoff win 24-17 over the Eagles. In his spare time Cook enjoys playing guitar, fishing, the beach and family time.Cook is a native of Pinecrest in Eastern Hillsborough County and has written for numerous publications including the Tampa Tribune, In the Field and Ya'll Magazine. Cook can be reached at [email protected]
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