Just a day after Cowboys All-Pro Gerald McCoy suffered a broken quad that put an end to his 2020 season, Dallas let the defensive tackle through injury removal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. McCoy had an exemption from an injury to his quad in the three-year, $ 18.3 million contract he signed with the Cowboys in late March that stipulated if he injured it, the club could cut him. And now they have it.
McCoy is able to keep his $ 3 million bonus per Schefter, but Dallas does not owe him more than that and is taking them off the hook for his base salary of $ 2.5 million for this season. The 32-year-old had to earn a total of $ 9 million and could have earned a maximum of $ 6.35 million this season, so this is an expensive turn of events for McCoy in more ways than one. Dallas could get out of his contract next financial offseason without financial hassles and would have wiped out about $ 3 million in cap space, but this expectation of injury seems to remove some capital for 2020 and beyond.
The veteran pass rusher was primed as a big piece in the defense of first-year head coach Mike McCarthy of Cowboys and starting along the defensive line.
“Gerald McCoy’s injury – very sad,” McCarthy said during his Tuesday morning statement. “I tell you, it makes you sick on a personal level when you see a player go through this kind of injury. It was an injury that was in the drill and I can not only tell you what he meant to us D -Line just in the short time we are together.
“He’s a great personality – apparently an excellent, excellent footballer. But I thought he was in good shape after that when I saw him and visited him. He will tackle this recovery from injury, just like he did everything else. great personality, has a good mindset based on what is for him.
“But yes, certainly a loss and very, very sorry.”
In 16 games played for Carolina last season, McCoy had a total of 37 tackles and five sacks. It was that type of play he was set to bring to Dallas, but the defensive player will now have to adjust to the flight with the regular season opener a few weeks away. Luckily for them, they have a number of options to replace McCoy, who breaks CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker here.
McCoy said in a statement that he expects to be ready to roll by 2021 and was looking for a mentor for the young Cowboys players on defense, who McCarthy appears to be embracing early Tuesday. Now, however, it seems that McCoy’s future is non-existent or at least divisive as he attempts this comeback.
