Philadelphia Eagles: Gerald McCoy is the perfect fit at the worst time
If Gerald McCoy was available on March 13th, he would have been a perfect fit with the Philadelphia Eagles, but now, there’s just not a spot for his enormous talent.
For the longest time, the careers of Gerald McCoy and Philadelphia Eagles‘ defensive tackle Fletcher Cox ran in parallel.
Selected two years apart in the 2010 and 2012 NFL drafts respectively, the duo established themselves as two of the NFC’s premier interior pass rushers; collapsing pockets and sacking quarterbacks at an impressive clip.
McCoy and Cox were so successful at what they did that the duo quickly earned two of the most lucrative contracts in NFL history for a defensive lineman, with the former signing a seven-year deal worth $98 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014, and the latter becoming a hundred millionaire with a six-year, $103 million extension in 2016.
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But fast forward to 2019, and the duo’s careers have taken very different directions.
Fletcher Cox is still, well, Fletcher Cox, the second best interior defensive lineman behind only Aaron Donald and one of the Eagles’ best players.
McCoy, on the other hand, was just released by the Bucs on May 20th to free up money to sign the team’s draft class.
While McCoy’s production has dropped a bit over the last few seasons, with his 2018 sack total (6) tied for his lowest mark since 2012, there’s no question that he’s still among the better players in the league at what he does, and has already been linked to a number of potential teams who would love to make him a feature of their defensive line.
However, one team who won’t be in the market for McCoy is the Eagles, and that’s a real shame.
As things presently stand, the Eagles have three starting-caliber defensive tackles in Cox, March signee Malik Jackson, and recently re-upped Timmy Jernigan, who’s playing on a one-year, prove-it deal. Factor in Vinny Curry‘s frequent historical usage as an inside rusher on obvious passing downs and the Eagles have a bevy of options at their disposal when it comes to pass rushing.
But no matter how high you are on Jackson, Jernigan, or even Curry, it’s hard to imagine any of these players serving as a better running mate for Cox at defensive tackle than McCoy, even at the sports old age of 31.
But alas, outside of a big trade, or an even less likely desire from McCoy to join Jim Schwartz‘s albeit prolific wide-9 defensive front on a prove it deal to earn a new big-money contract off the back of a huge 2019 campaign, it’s pretty hard to imagine a way for the two parties to come together.
Even a certified cap wizard like Howie Roseman probably couldn’t get that done.
Next. Eagles would watch Super Bowl odds skyrocket by acquiring Jadeveon Clowney. dark
So even though a Fletcher Cox-Gerald McCoy pairing would be absolutely unstoppable in the trenches, it’s almost impossible to imagine a way for the Philadelphia Eagles to make that happen in 2019 and honestly, that’s a real shame.