Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Gerald McCoy making progress in extension talks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star  defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is one of the best players in the NFL, and the profound impact that he has on the Buccaneers defense was seen in his absence. McCoy suffered a hand injury in the team’s Week 2 loss to the St. Louis Rams, which bounced him out of the Thursday Night Football rivalry matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. Although the Buccaneers still would have lost with McCoy (Matt Ryan and Julio Jones simply toasted the Buccaneers secondary), it would have been much closer with the former Oklahoma standout bossing the interior and putting pressure on Ryan.

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McCoy recorded a ridiculous 50 tackles with nine sacks last season despite playing under Greg Schiano, who used a defensive set-up filled with stunts that wasn’t favorable to the explosive DT’s style.

Per sources close to CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora, McCoy and the Buccaneers are in “ongoing” extension talks and have made progress, which is obviously excellent news. The Buccaneers, per La Canfora, have more than enough money to get a lucrative extension done with their most valuable player, whom La Canfora writes is the unquestionable “face of the franchise”.

The Buccaneers have three excellent building blocks on defense in McCoy, Lavonte David, and Alterraun Verner to go with a few other talented pieces in Clinton McDonald, Mark Barron, and Michael Johnson. But McCoy is clearly the star of the show, and the DT playing on his expiring rookie deal definitely deserves an extension even more lucrative than his massive rookie deal.