TAMPA, Fla. — Six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy announced his retirement from the NFL Friday via social media.
McCoy shared a video montage of highlights from his 11-season NFL career, predominantly his draft day, followed by him hanging up a cape with his last name and No. 93 on it, along with a pair of red cleats. The video ends with the words, “THANK YOU” over a Batman logo with McCoy’s number at the center.
McCoy, an avid fan of comic-book superheroes, has a particular affinity for Batman, saying in 2019 that he always considered himself “a Batman-type player.”
“When you think about Batman, he didn’t have any powers,” McCoy said at the time. “I didn’t run a super fast 40. I didn’t have a lot of reps on bench. My vertical wasn’t super high. The same thing with Batman. Batman’s not super fast, he’s not super strong. He doesn’t fly. ... It’s like, how does he get this done? It’s because, one, he outworks everybody. He out-thinks everybody, and he’s always prepared, and that’s how I try to be.”
McCoy, 35, retires as one of the most personally decorated players in Bucs history and should be a candidate for the team’s Ring of Honor. The third overall pick in the 2010 draft, the former Oklahoma star was named to six consecutive Pro Bowls (2012-17) and was an All-Pro in 2013.
McCoy ranks third behind Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice among the Bucs’ all-time sack leaders with 54 1/2. He had 59 1/2 in his career, which also included stops with the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders.
Unfortunately for McCoy, he was part of some of the worst Bucs teams in club history. He played for four head coaches: Raheem Morris, Greg Schiano, Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter. The Bucs enjoyed only two winning seasons during that stretch and never reached the postseason.
With the Cowboys in 2020, he suffered a season-ending ruptured right quadriceps tendon during training camp. He last played for the Raiders in 2021, suffering a season-ending knee injury in a Week 1 overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens.
