The Las Vegas Raiders have an exciting new cornerback, but his rookie deal likely comes with special considerations.
There are still a handful of rookie deals that are unsigned around the NFL, but the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to remove cornerback Jermod McCoy from that list, according to a report from Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk that references Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
While most of the remaining unsigned players are quarterbacks looking to change details with regard to payments, offset language and so on, McCoy’s situation is very different. He was widely lauded for having first-round talent going into the draft, but McCoy’s medicals put him in a different kind of injury jeopardy.
Specifically, McCoy tore his ACL during his last year at Tennessee, and the surgery to repair the injury was considered successful. But the procedure involved using a special kind of plug to perform the operation, and word got out before the draft that another injury to the same knee would likely be a career-ender.
Given this set of circumstances, it’s hard to imagine the delay being about anything other than his medicals. He’s been trusting the Raiders so far in that regard, but if he has a good agent to go with a top contract lawyer, he’s getting language installed that would protect him in case he does incur another serious injury to his vulnerable knee.
The Raiders have been understandably careful about getting McCoy on the field so far. They trotted him out for OTAs, where he was reportedly able to do complete team activities, but this was also undoubtedly a photo op tactic as well. The reports were less optimistic in minicamp, as McCoy wasn’t a full participant, and he may have been limited completely.
Training camp is where the rubber will hit the road for real with the promising cornerback. Given how little we know right now, there’s a broad range of possibilities in play, from McCoy being a full participant to some kind of ramp up to being used as a depth player who starts the season on the PUP list for some period.
Regardless of what happens, McCoy is a key figure. The Raiders signed Eric Stokes to an extension in the offseason, so he’s expected to start on one side. But Darien Porter struggled on the other side last year, and there were reports in minicamp that rookie Hezekiah Masses was in play for a starting job. McCoy would be a big upgrade given his potential, so the Raiders are undoubtedly hoping he can step in and fulfill it.
