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Gerald McCoy is staying in the NFC South.
While the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns were the frontrunners to sign the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle, the third team in consideration ended up agreeing to a deal with McCoy. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday that McCoy’s contract with the Carolina Panthers is one-year and worth up to $10.25 million.
Panthers are giving DT Gerald McCoy a one-year deal worth up to $10.25 million that includes a $4 million signing bonus, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 3, 2019
The Panthers freed up some cap space by releasing left tackle Matt Kalil and restructuring WR Torrey Smith’s contract.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport then broke down how the $10.25 million value worked itself out.
The full breakdown of Gerald McCoy’s deal with the #Panthers: 1 year, $4M to sign, $3M base, $500K camp roster bonus, $500K in 45-man per game bonus. Plus, 6.5 sacks for $500k, 8 sacks gets him $1.5M. 250K for Pro Bowl, $250K for playoffs. Just $4M guaranteed. Total: Up $10.25M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 3, 2019
The Buccaneers were set to pay McCoy $13 million for the final season of his contract, and with no suitable trade partners, they released the six-time Pro Bowl selection outright. Now he’ll be facing his former team twice this season, which I’m sure Bucs fans are elated to hear.
Carolina has spent a king’s ransom on its defensive line, which had a very poor pass rush last season. The McCoy signing means they’ve spent the most money at that position in the NFL.
This presumably puts the Panthers at over $60 million spent on the defensive line in 2019, which is more than $10 million more than 2nd place. Seahawks are set to spend $20 million on DL, with more than 40% of that going to Ansah https://t.co/uY5mihWRuO
— Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) June 3, 2019
...And who are they paying for, you may be asking? Well the big names here are Kawann Short and Gerald McCoy, but also veterans Dontari Poe and ex-Seahawk Bruce Irvin, as well as rookies Brian Burns and Christian Miller.
Panthers projected defensive front includes:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) June 3, 2019
* DT Kawann Short
* DT Dontari Poe
* DT Gerald McCoy
* DE Brian Burns
* DE Bruce Irvin
* DT Vernon Butler
* DE Mario Addison
* DE Christian Miller
Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson play making behind them.
Just for the record, the Seahawks are at the Carolina Panthers in Week 15.