Gerald McCoy, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Photo by Joe Robbins / Getty Images)
The Dallas Cowboys’ greatest free agent signs an injury this season
Fans of the Dallas Cowboys will have to wait another year before they see Gerald McCoy potentially on the field wearing the Star on his helmet. On Monday, the six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle suffering from a broken right quad-tendon that will require him to have season-ending surgery. That’s according to Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com.
McCoy’s loss is a big blow to Dallas’ revamped defense under new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. The 32-year-old All-Pro’s defensive tackle was considered the linchpin of the Cowboys’ defensive restart in 2020 following the signing of a three-year, $ 18 million contract in March.
Together with fellow free agent and defensive tackle Dontari Poe, he and McCoy both represented a new level of investment for the Cowboys’ in the interior of their defensive line. Now, without McCoy, Dallas will be forced to rely on some of its younger players for increased production this coming season.
How will the Dallas Cowboys replace Gerald McCoy?
Fortunately, the Cowboys invested a third-round pick in Neville Gallimore of Oklahoma in this year’s draft. They also used a second-round pick at UCF’s Trysten Hill last year. Both Gallimore and Hill would benefit from the experience of playing behind McCoy. Now, they’ll have to get that tuition from the veteran defender on the sidelines and in class instead.
While the Cowboys have two young studs in Gallimore and Hill to replace McCoy, Tyrone Crawford did not sleep on defensive end. With the recent acquisition of defensive end Everson Griffen, Dallas was able to return the versatile Crawford to defending tackle technique for three techniques. It’s a position he used a lot in the run-up to Rod Marinelli as the team’s former defense coordinator.
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Another option for the Dallas Cowboys that replaces Gerald McCoy could come up with multiple schedules. Nolan could look to use the 3-4 defensive line-up much more after McCoy’s loss, allowing Poe to anchor the middle and replace the other defensive tackle with a pass-running linebacker like the newly added Aldon Smith.
