After a “great” two-day visit with free-agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, the Ravens will now wait and see if one of the NFL’s best interior pass rushers of the last decade will join their revamped defense.
The six-time Pro Bowl selection left the team’s Owings Mills training facility without signing a contract Wednesday, but the Ravens remain in the running for his services along with Cleveland and Carolina. McCoy will reportedly next visit the Panthers after spending extensive time with both the Browns and Ravens over the last week.
The 31-year-old was released by Tampa Bay earlier this month after registering six or more sacks in each of the last six seasons. The Ravens are deep at nose tackle with Brandon Williams and Michael Pierce, but they lack interior pass rushers with the offseason departures of Za’Darius Smith and Brent Urban, making McCoy an intriguing option to lead the likes of Willie Henry, Pernell McPhee, and 5-technique defensive ends Chris Wormley, and Zach Sieler.
Regarded as a high-character individual around the league, McCoy would also join free safety Earl Thomas to help fill the veteran leadership void left with the exits of Terrell Suggs, C.J. Mosley, and Eric Weddle. His ability to disrupt the pocket is the primary drawing factor, of course.
“I think everybody out there has seen what he can do,” owner Steve Bisciotti said in a Wednesday conference call with season-ticket holders. “I think he’s a bit of a game wrecker. … He brings something to the table that we don’t have.”
The third overall pick of the 2010 draft out of Oklahoma, McCoy has collected 53 1/2 sacks in his nine seasons, but the Buccaneers weren’t willing to pay their longtime defensive star $13 million this fall, making him a free agent for the first time in his decorated career. According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound McCoy graded as the 28th-best interior defender among qualified NFL players and received the lowest pass-rushing grade of his career last season despite still registering six sacks and 21 quarterback hits.
The Ravens currently have $13.484 million in salary cap space, which could make it challenging to strike a deal if McCoy desires a one-year contract with a high base salary in hopes of reestablishing his value and hitting the open market next March. Baltimore still needs cap room to sign its remaining draft picks, pay practice-squad players during the regular season, and maintain enough financial flexibility to sign additional players in the event of injuries, meaning general manager Eric DeCosta would likely need to create some more room at some point if McCoy agrees to terms.
The Browns have over $32 million in cap space while the Panthers sport just over $8.5 million, according to the NFL Players Association. McCoy has reportedly received one-year offers as high as $11 million.
An appealing factor working in the Ravens’ favor is the way defensive coordinator Wink Martindale likes to rotate his defensive linemen, which could keep McCoy fresh and more productive over a full season. His 732 defensive snaps last season ranked 31st among NFL defensive linemen and were 210 more than any Baltimore defensive linemen played, reflecting how heavily the Buccaneers defense leaned on the veteran. McCoy also has a relationship with Ravens defensive line coach Joe Cullen after the two worked together in Tampa Bay in 2014 and 2015.
Expecting McCoy to regain his peak form might be unrealistic, but he’d give the Ravens their highest-profile all-around defensive tackle since Haloti Ngata, who coincidentally had his retirement press conference Wednesday. McCoy attended part of the session before leaving the team facility, but Ngata had the opportunity to make his own pitch to the free agent.
“He’d be an amazing, amazing, amazing player to have here,” said Ngata, who made five Pro Bowls and was a member of the Super Bowl XLVII championship team. “As you guys know, he’s done a lot of amazing things in Tampa. We talked, and I just wished him the best in wherever he decides to go.
“If it’s here, that’s even better.”
