Suiting up in Monday night’s season-opener for the Las Vegas Raiders, six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy hoped for new beginnings with his new team.
Unfortunately, those hopes were abruptly cut short after just nine snaps with the Raiders last night.
In the fourth quarter of last night’s thriller against the Baltimore Ravens, McCoy was carted off with an apparent knee injury. Earlier today, head coach Jon Gruden said the injury to his veteran defensive tackle is likely “longterm.”
According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the Raiders have already made a move to replace McCoy — signing defensive tackle Damion Square off of the Chicago Bears’ practice squad.
The #Raiders are signing DT Damion Square off the #Bears practice squad, source said. Reinforcements after the Gerald McCoy injury.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 14, 2021
Like McCoy, Square is a veteran at the DT position (although far less decorated). Through eight NFL seasons and 92 career games, Square has started just 24 contests. His best season came in 2018 when he logged 3.0 sacks and 31 tackles through 11 starts with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Unfortunately for McCoy, this will likely be the second year in a row that he’s suffered a season-ending injury. Prior to the 2020 season, the former All-Pro DT was released by the Dallas Cowboys after rupturing his right quad in training camp.
Prior to yesterday’s Monday night opener, McCoy released a piece on The Player’s Tribune expressing his excitement to return for this year’s NFL season.
Hopefully 33 year old can make yet another comeback in 2022.
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