When discussing defensive tackle Gerald McCoy last week, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said “if he’s here” in relation to McCoy’s role on the defense multiple times.
The Buccaneers opened their offseason program on Monday and Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that McCoy wasn’t there. This phase of work is voluntary, so McCoy is under no obligation to be with the team but his absence will likely lead to further speculation about his future with the team.
That speculation got started in January when McCoy tweeted about embracing change, but word in February was that the Bucs were going to keep McCoy on hand for the 2019 season.
McCoy is set to make $13 million this season, but none of that salary is guaranteed so the team would not be on the hook for any money if they did decide to move on without him.