Gerald McCoy has drawn offers as high as $11MM per season, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Furthermore, Stroud hears that McCoy has garnered interest from ten teams since his release from Tampa. 
So far, McCoy has been connected to the Browns, Ravens, Falcons, Saints, Colts, Bengals, and Panthers. The Patriots were also said to have interest in the defensive tackle, but on Thursday night we learned that they are no longer in the mix.
It’s unlikely that McCoy will be able to match his previous $13MM/year salary, but he might get something close to that from one of these clubs. Of course, in some of these cases, negotiating will be a bit like trying to extract blood from a stone since clubs like the Falcons and Saints have little in the way of available cap space.
First up for McCoy is a Friday visit with the Browns.
If the market is so crowded and the eventual price point is so close to his original salary, how did the Bucs fail to get compensation for him? You’d think they could have just eaten $2M of his base pay and gotten a draft pick from him ala Robert Quinn.
That amount is just an unverified rumor from some newspaper guy.
Exactly! It could be his agent trying to stir up the market.
Doubt he gets $11 million, but it will be close. I see no reason why there wouldn’t be a high demand for the services of a 6x pro bowler who showed no drop off last year.
It’s production! Why would anyone pay McCoy more than 7 mil a year is beyond me!
McCoy’s production last year was perfectly on par with the rest of his career. 6 sacks and highly rated by Pro Football Focus.
A team trading for him would take on his current contract and giving up some sort of asset to do so, which some teams don’t like to do even if it’s a low round pick. They may of had the preference to negotiate their own pact, despite having to compete on the market.
take the ring and 8M
That money leaves the Patriots and Saints out. Go with the Browns, the rest meh
McCoy is a great player, but not worth that money! There is always that desperate(stupid) team out there that will pay a player no matter what the cost is to win a game( like the redskins), but it comes back to kick them in the ass as the season goes on!
The Redskins and Jets, in the past, have previously typically overpaid, signing players for multiple seasons..
This is, or well should be, completely different. In all likelihood, this should be a one year deal, at the most 2 years.
McCoy, for ~10mil, could be a very solid asset for a team that has the cap space. Not only are you going to get a very solid interior d-lineman, you are also going to get someone that’s reliable, and that can be a mentor/role model for the signing team’s younger defensive players, especially their lineman..
If you’re the Browns, with young and talented defensive prospects like Takitaki, Greedy Williams, Mack Wilson, Denzel Ward, and Myles Garret, among other young and upcoming talemted guys you couldn’t ask for a better role model than G.McCoy…
Not to mention, you’re going to have a whole new cast of characters with big personalities on this Browns team. You need veterans like McCoy to pull and rally the locker room toget her when expectations aren’t met, and during hard times.
The Browns already have a couple solid veterans in place that could be considered as team leaders on and off the field, but McCoy is as well respected a teammate and leader as they come. He’d definitely help their team chemistry..
So yeah, for his on and off the field contributions, I’d def. happily sign McCoy to a 1 year deal for ~10mil, and I’d even throw in a mutual option for a second season if it sealed the deal to bring McCoy in.
If you’re the Browns, you’ve done just about everything you can to improve this team, but with a rookie head coach, a young QB and RB leading your offense, and a large amount of young and talented players on both sides of the ball, you need all the veteran leaders you can get. You can’t cut corners now, go ahead and grab McCoy, fortify your DL, give yourself flexibility and depth options, and go ahead and add one of the most well respected and liked men in the NFL..
For me, if I’m the Browns, I wouldn’t let him leave Cleveland without a deal…It’s that simple..
If that were an actual offer he would be signed already
McCoy wants to have his cake and eat it too. $11m/year from the Patriots is what he’s looking for.