Berea, OH (92.3 The Fan) – Although Gerald McCoy visited the Ravens this week and is set to visit the Carolina Panthers next, Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens believes they can still sign the six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle.
“I do,” Kitchens said Thursday following the Browns’ ninth OTA practice session of the spring.
McCoy, who was released by Tampa Bay May 20th because he was slated to make $13 million this coming season, visited Cleveland last Thursday evening and most of the day on Friday. The Buccaneers essentially saved themselves $3 million by signing Ndamukong Suh to a one-year contract worth over $9 million guaranteed and up to $10 million with incentives.
By all accounts the visit to Cleveland went well as McCoy met with just about everyone and anyone at the team’s facility in Berea.
“I like the kid,” Kitchens said. “I liked the person, of course I like the player but more importantly just getting to know the kid and I really liked him.”
Following the holiday weekend McCoy spent Tuesday evening and most of Wednesday in Baltimore and is expected to head to Carolina Thursday evening for a visit with the Panthers as well that should go into Friday.
While some might see that as problematic for the Browns’ chances to sign McCoy, Kitchens does not.
“We want Gerald to go out and look at other places, because when he makes the commitment here, we want him to be all in, because everyone that’s gonna be here is gonna be all in” Kitchens said. “And that’s what we need to get to where we’re going.
“So, we’re fine with him taking a look at everybody else. We don’t care because we’ve told him who we are and if that’s who he wants, he will end up here. He knows the direction we’re headed.”
Should the Browns add McCoy, they’d have four Pro Bowl defensive linemen to throw at opposing offenses this coming season.
“He knows he is going to be playing,” Kitchens said. “I know the more good football players you have, the better you are, the better rotation is and the better you can get after a quarterback in a two-minute drive. There is a staggering stat or something like 78 percent of two-minute drives, if you have a sack or give up a sack anywhere along that way, your chances of scoring goes under 20 percent. He knows we will want to put pressure on the quarterback. He knows that is what we are going to be about. Hopefully, he wants to be a part of it.”
Since 2010 McCoy has racked up 54.5 sacks, including six in each of the last two seasons, which ranks him fourth among active defensive tackles over that span. He’s also added 296 tackles, 79 tackles for loss and 140 quarterback hits.
