The Baltimore Ravens have been showing interest in free-agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. After he was released from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Ravens are set to bring McCoy in for a visit today.
But is that a good idea? McCoy would bring pass-rushing ability to a defensive line that has seriously lacked it in recent years. Even at 30 years old, McCoy is a force in the middle of the defensive line. But there are several reasons why signing McCoy would be bad for Baltimore.
Let’s take a look at the biggest issues:
Money
The Buccaneers effectively replaced McCoy with Ndamukong Suh on a one-year, $10 million deal. If McCoy comes with the same price tag, he’ll be the fourth-most expensive player on the roster.
Though that wouldn’t necessarily break the bank for the Ravens, it would likely mean someone has to get cut for Baltimore to have enough wiggle room to feel comfortable for the rest of the season. If they didn’t cut someone, the Ravens would be left with very little salary cap remaining for the season and next to none to roll over to 2020, when they could use it more.
Experience
This isn’t about McCoy’s experience — he has plenty of it. But it’s the experience of those younger players behind him. If Baltimore were to sign McCoy, it would only hurt the young defensive tackles on the roster by keeping them from playing as often.
That could slow the development of players like Willie Henry, Daylon Mack, Zach Sieler and Gerald Willis. This should be a fairly obvious upgrade while McCoy is in town, but the Ravens have clearly been thinking of the future of the roster this offseason as well. And by not getting their younger players more playing time and slowing their development down, it could hurt the team in the long term.
Depth
The other key aspect of signing McCoy would be the likely departure of another player. Baltimore has to trim the roster down to 53 players, and adding McCoy would mean the defensive line has one more person it’ll need to cut to make the final roster.
Much like the development of the young players, McCoy’s addition could cause the Ravens to jettison a player that could make an impact down the line. Sieler or Willis would be the likely candidates to not make the cut given their draft status, low cost and low probability of making an impact immediately.
While that wouldn’t be the end of the world right now, Sieler has shown some flashes, and Willis was projected to be a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft before falling out because of off-field issues. It would be a shame to lose players who still have plenty of years left on their deals at low cap hits in return for what might only be a one-year rental.
