Buccaneers add Super Bowl running back McCoy to the mix
TAMPA, Fla. - The Buccaneers have added another Super Bowl champion to the mix. Tom Brady welcomed LeSean McCoy to a team already loaded with talent Tuesday.
This is McCoy's fourth team and like so many other free agents, he wanted to be a part of what the Bucs are building.
"I mean, come on – I’m in Tampa,” McCoy said on a Zoom teleconference. "Nice weather and I’m playing with Tom Brady? How do you beat that?”
McCoy has been good friends with Rob Gronkowski and has competed against Brady for years. But finally being on the same team and seeing how Brady commands the huddle has made a quick impression on McCoy.
Watching Brady, at 43, deliver precision passes consistently caught the whole team’s attention.
“He looked good,” offered McCoy "He looked real good. As he’s throwing the ball, I heard a couple of the guys whispering, ‘Dang, how many years do you think he’ll play?’ That’s how good he looked – seriously. Me and Gronk talked about it – his will to win, his will to go out there and still keep doing it. Once you see a guy like that kind of display that attitude, you want to be a part of it. It says to me like, ‘Man, how much longer can I do it?’ He looked good today. He looked in good shape. He threw the ball very well. He’s like a coach with a helmet on.”
Rob Gronkowski and LeSean McCoy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers works out during a practice on August 04, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
McCoy comes to the Bucs as a six-time Pro Bowler, who just won his first Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. He brings stability to an inexperienced Bucs running back group with 11 years of experience.
McCoy has 11,000 career rushing yards, compared to the rest of the Bucs’ backfield that have totaled just under 800 yards.
"You know, I want to fit in,” said McCoy. "I want to be a part of that group that, ‘Hey, we’ve got things to prove.’ I’ve done a lot of great things in my career, but I’m not finished. When I decide to step out on the field and to continue my career, that means a lot. I really dive in. I give it my all and that can be a lot of different things from on the field playing to actually helping out the younger guys in the room. I witnessed today that they’re so young and I really could help them out for this team and for the future. I just want to have a big impact any way that I can, but I also want to get out there, contribute and show my worth.”
Like Brady and Gronk, McCoy wants to show the Bucs that, despite his age, he has enough left to help win another Super Bowl.