Many New Orleans Saints fans were disappointed to see free agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy leave one NFC South team (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) only to sign with another division rival, the Carolina Panthers. McCoy would have made sense in New Orleans on a one-year contract much like the one he signed with Carolina, especially with starting lineman Sheldon Rankins on the mend after an Achilles injury back in January.
But Saints head coach Sean Payton said the team wasn’t in on the sweepstakes for McCoy after having already invested in that position group. The Saints signed several free agent defensive linemen back in March, most notably former New England Patriots nose tackle Malcom Brown and tackle/end hybrid Mario Edwards Jr. They were joined recently by longtime Panthers backup defensive end Wes Horton Jr.
However, it’s not like the Saints didn’t have the money to add McCoy. The NFL Players Association public salary cap report had them trailing the Panthers by little more than $1 million before the McCoy signing was announced. Instead, what Payton is saying is that the Saints had a position-specific budget for their defensive line, which they felt was already maxed out.
Whether this was the right move will not be revealed until September. McCoy was a repeat-Pro Bowler and occasional All-Pro; with Rankins sidelined by his injury, the Saints will ask backup David Onyemata to start in his place with Edwards mixed into the rotation. So long as Onyemata is not suspended following a drug arrest back in February, the defensive line should hold up until Rankins is back in action.
