Bucs need to pull the trigger on a potential Gerald McCoy trade

Less than 24 hours after Bucs Nation’s Evan Winter wrote up a blueprint for the Buccaneers to keep veteran defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, trade rumors have swirled naming the Cleveland Browns as a potential trade partner.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal’s Steve Doerschuk, Browns general manager John Dorsey is intrigued with the thought of taking McCoy off Tampa Bay’s hands.

If you ask general manager John Dorsey about “going for it,” his response might be coy. Behind the scenes, Dorsey might not be finished trying to microwave a contender.

Dorsey’s interest in McCoy is believed to be ongoing, and the Buccaneers likely still have an appetite for getting value from him for the program new pilot Bruce Arians is building.

There have been many reports circulating on whether the Bucs will release, trade, or keep McCoy for months and yet here we are with him still on the roster. But to move him, the Buccaneers would obviously want some good value in return and Doerschuk mentions a name that would provide immediate help in the run game as return for McCoy.

The Browns have wiggle room and a player who might fit the tricky economics of a trade involving two veterans, in addition to addressing a Bucs need. Running back Duke Johnson signed a Browns contract extension last year that, according to Spotrac, has them on the hook for salary cap hits of $4.05 million this year, $4.85 million in 2020 and $5.9 million in 2021.

McCoy is not the same player he once was for several reasons. He wasn’t even a team captain last season (for whatever reason) and hasn’t been attending offseason workouts (again, for whatever reason). The one player the team always counted on to “be there” hasn’t and the whole situation has holes in it to fill dating back to last season an what exactly is going on.

The time is now to part from the guy who enjoyed life as an OCNN reporter for a couple seasons while dipping into that celebrity status, the guy who enjoyed flashy photo shoots with his flashy car, the guy who likes to show up to camp in costumes, and the guy who some suspected of being a diva but only one columnist ever had the sense to actually call him that.

At this point in the game, if the offer is right, and this offer seems to be just that, then the Buccaneers need not hesitate and pull the trigger. That flash is gone.