Six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy retires from NFL

After over a decade of playing in the NFL, six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is calling it a career. 

The third overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft announced his retirement from football on Friday, finishing his career with 59.5 sacks. 

Gerald McCoy of the Buccaneers celebrates a stop against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 16, 2018, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

McCoy was drafted out of the University of Oklahoma by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spending nine seasons with the Bucs and making the Pro Bowl every year from 2012-17. 

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His six Pro Bowl selections with the Bucs are tied for third-most in franchise history with Mike Alstott and Lee Roy Selmon. 

McCoy last appeared in an NFL game in 2021 with the Las Vegas Raiders, playing in just one game before suffering a season-ending knee injury. 

In his nine years in Tampa Bay, McCoy tallied 54.5 sacks, 220 solo tackles, 79 tackles for loss, and 153 hits on the quarterback. 

His 54.5 sacks are the fourth-highest total in Tampa Bay history. 

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McCoy joined the Carolina Panthers in 2019 after being released by the Buccaneers, generating five sacks in 16 games. 

Carolina Panthers defensive end Gerald McCoy chats with NFL Network’s Melissa Stark after playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 13, 2019, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. (Martin Leitch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

While with Carolina, McCoy stated his desire as a Buccaneer. 

“I’m going to retire a Buc. I can tell you that now,” McCoy told reporters in 2019, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “Yeah. What do they do? One day contracts? Ten hour contracts? Whatever. I don’t know what it’s called. I’m going to retire (as) a Buc. 

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Gerald McCoy of the Buccaneers reacts after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles at Raymond James Stadium on Sept. 16, 2018, in Tampa, Florida. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

“I’ve already talked to owners, we’ve already established that. So regardless of where I go, whether I’m here a couple more years, whether I go somewhere else, when I officially retire, I’m going to go and retire as a Buccaneer.”

After one year with the Panthers, McCoy signed with the Dallas Cowboys, but ruptured his quad in the offseason, missing the entire 2020 season.