The Carolina Panthers are already pretty well set at the defensive tackle position. They’ve never been shy about trying to improve, though. Naturally, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released Gerald McCoy earlier this week, a lot of fans were interested in the possibility of signing him. While we assumed Carolina wouldn’t have enough cap space to make a legitimate run at McCoy, that won’t stop the team from trying, apparently.
According to a report by Mike Garafolo at NFL Network, McCoy will meet with the Browns first, but he’s also getting interest from the Bengals and Panthers.
Other reports have stated that there may be as many as nine teams who have reached out to McCoy, including the division rival Falcons.
From a football standpoint, it’s tough to argue against adding a player like McCoy. Kawann Short has never really had a legitimate partner in crime lining up next to him inside. Star Lotulelei was inconsistent at best and Dontari Poe has not worked out so far. McCoy is a much more potent pass rusher and run stopper than either of them and would instantly upgrade Carolina’s defensive line in a big way.
On the other hand, it might qualify as overkill. Cutting Poe this year is problematic from a cap perspective and the veteran Kyle Love is still a quality backup.
We certainly won’t complain if they can make it work, but the Panthers should be looking to add better cornerbacks and safeties at this point, not more linemen.
