Does Gerald McCoy Think About The Bucs Ring Of Honor?

Very quickly after that, the Bucs replaced Gerald McCoy with Ndamukong Suh – the player coincidentally drafted one spot ahead of McCoy in 2010. And while there likely wasn’t any ill will intended by it, Tampa Bay immediately turning around and granting McCoy’s No. 93 to Suh only days after cutting him didn’t go over all that well with the team’s former captain.

McCoy ended up signing with the NFC South rival Panthers in 2019 and spent parts of 2020 and 2021 with the Cowboys and Raiders, but injuries derailed his career once he left Tampa.

It was clear that McCoy felt disrespected by the Bucs. He has since chalked that up to it simply being a result of the business side of the game. And that’s why it’s no surprise that McCoy has gone right back to supporting the Bucs and showing love to his former team — and especially his former teammates.

Gerald McCoy has long been a polarizing figure among Bucs fans. There’s no denying the impact he made in the Tampa Bay community, and he racked up some impressive accolades on the field, too. He has the fourth-most sacks in franchise history (54.5), plus he made six Pro Bowls – six years in a row, at that – and was a one-time All-Pro.

But McCoy often has the Bucs’ lack of success during 2010-2018 held against him. Whether that’s fair is an entirely different conversation, but he was never on a playoff team – and that is something his detractors will be quick to point out.

With all of that in mind, the topic of Gerald McCoy as a potential Bucs Ring of Honor inductee has been met with some serious pushback in the past. There will be plenty who believe he deserves the recognition, though. Now, no one is going to advocate that he should be next up, as Simeon Rice, Hardy Nickerson, Gene Deckerhoff, Tom Brady and some others – including the still-active Lavonte David and Mike Evans – should absolutely be in front of him.

But some day, some time? Perhaps Gerald McCoy will have his day and find his name up inside of Raymond James Stadium.

What Does Gerald McCoy Think About One Day Entering The Bucs Ring Of Honor?

In an appearance on The Ronnie & TKras Show on 95.3 WDAE last week, Gerald McCoy covered a wide range of topics. But at the end of his interview with Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi, McCoy was asked if he thinks about the possibility of being inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor inside Raymond James Stadium.

“Yeah, I think about it. But I’ve come to the realization that if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen,” McCoy said. “If it don’t, it don’t. Jimmy Johnson just got added to the freakin’ Cowboys Ring of Honor and it took him getting into the Hall of Fame before that. I know what I was to the organization. The Ring of Honor does not determine what I was to the organization.”

McCoy further elaborated on what his legacy with the Bucs – and his legacy in Tampa Bay – was truly about.

“You know what it was? Those kids that got glasses when I was in Tampa,” McCoy said. “All those families at the McCoy Family Christmas that we made them smile, that’s what determines who Gerald was in Tampa. All of these back to school drives, all of these Thanksgivings and the impact of when I walk in this stadium, when I come back to support my team.

“All the fans’ love and the joy and the autographs and the pictures, that’s what means something to me. Yes, I would love to be in the Bucs Ring of Honor because I grew up a Bucs fan. I gave that organization everything I had, but that’s not going to make or break me.”

McCoy even went on to acknowledge the end of his time with the Bucs before discussing his love for the organization – and the love he still feels from it.

“The thing is, what comes with growing up is maturity. The Bucs and I had a rocky ending.” he said. “But if everybody notices, you see me hugging the owners at all times. You see me and Jason [Licht] taking pictures together. What everybody thought was is not what it was. That was professionals being professionals, working through business. But the love that I receive from the Bucs organization at all times… Man, put me in the Ring of Honor, man, I’ll cry like a baby. I know I am.

“Whether I get the call or not. If I do get the call, I’m gonna cry on the phone, I’m gonna cry on the flight to Tampa, I’m gonna cry during my speech. I know I will because I love that organization. They changed my life forever, so I’m forever indebted to the Bucs.

“But the Ring of Honor? That doesn’t determine who I was when I was in Tampa. Getting videos from my wife, from a person who’s walking in the mall and they’re wearing my jersey, and they ask, ‘What do you know about McCoy?’ And he yells, ‘That guy was a legend!’ That’s what means something to me. The Bucs Ring of Honor, if I get it, excellent. If I don’t, it is what it is.”

Gerald McCoy: “It’s Not About Me – It’s About Everybody Around Me”

There is no debating the kind of teammate Gerald McCoy was and still is to this day. It’s evident in the way he has praised Bucs legend Lavonte David and brought attention to just how underrated he is. And it was clear once again when McCoy showed up to Tampa Bay’s playoff win over Philadelphia wearing David’s No. 54 jersey. Then, when he was shown on the big screen during the game, he was not only wearing the No. 54, but also holding up Mike Evans’ No. 13 jersey.

“I still love the Bucs. Did y’all notice when I was on the camera, did I have a Gerald jersey? Did I point to myself, or did I point to Lavonte [David] and Mike [Evans]?” McCoy said. “You know why? Because we don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward. I wanted everybody to show those two love because I want everybody to appreciate what these people are while they’re still there. We don’t know if Mike is coming back, we don’t know if Lavonte is coming back.

“But what we do know is that possibly could’ve been the last game they play in those uniforms in that stadium. So I wanted to let everybody know it’s about them. I’ve never been a ‘me’ person. I’m about everybody around me. If accolades come my way, excellent. But people also forget in 2015, I said if it was possible, send Lavonte to the Pro Bowl [and] I’ll stay home. That’s how I’ve always been.”

That gesture – and his explanation of it – was who Gerald McCoy was in Tampa. And that’s who he’ll always be to the organization and city that he called home for nearly a decade.

“So it’s not about me, it’s about everybody around me,” he said. “So if I was able to impact anybody’s life in Tampa, that’s what means something to me – not the Bucs Ring of Honor. It would be great – now, I’m not saying I don’t want it! I do want it. I do want it. I want to be sealed in that organization forever. But if it doesn’t happen, I still love the Bucs.”