Matt McCoy (American football)

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Matthew Garrett McCoy (born October 14, 1982) is a former American football linebacker. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football at San Diego State.

McCoy also played for the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks.

McCoy attended Tustin High School in Tustin, California. He set the school record for quarterback sacks with 18.5 sacks as a junior. As a senior, he broke his own record with 23 sacks and was named "High School Defensive Player of the Year" by the Orange County Register.

McCoy played college football at San Diego State University where he won All-Mountain West Conference honors. He finished his career with eight sacks, 270 tackles (26.5 for losses), four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four pass deflections, and a blocked kick.

McCoy was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft as a project linebacker whom Eagles personnel felt they could develop.^[1][2] McCoy was expected to contribute to special teams, but did not contribute in his rookie season. Going into 2006, he was named the weakside linebacker starter by Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson. Initially he had been praised as having great speed, sideline to sideline pursuit abilities and a high motor, as well as described as a "ball hawk". He had an injured shoulder later in the year that prevented him from playing as well as he had during the first 6 weeks of the season, and ultimately led to his benching in favor of rookie Omar Gaither. Matt McCoy finished the season with 66 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 forces fumbles, and 5 tackles for loss.

At the beginning of the 2007 season, McCoy was listed as a back-up linebacker and a starter on special team kickoffs. In the team's Week 8 game against the Minnesota Vikings, McCoy was flagged for unnecessary roughness after a late hit on punter Chris Kluwe. The following day, he was cut in favor of practice squad linebacker Akeem Jordan. When asked about the penalty's effect on the transaction, head coach Andy Reid said Jordan was more the reason for the move.

After being let go by the Eagles, McCoy was signed by the New Orleans Saints on November 3, 2007. He appeared in four games with the team,^[3] recording two solo tackles.

McCoy was not tendered a contract by the team as a restricted free agent the following off-season, making him an unrestricted free agent.

On March 4, 2008, McCoy signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[4]

After being inactive for the 2009 regular season opener, McCoy recorded one tackle against the Buffalo Bills on September 20. He was released by the Buccaneers on September 26 when wide receiver Mario Urrutia was promoted from the practice squad. He was re-signed on September 29, when Urrutia was waived. McCoy was released again on October 13, to make room for newly signed wide receiver Yamon Figurs. He was re-signed on November 11.

On March 16, 2010, McCoy signed with the Seattle Seahawks.^[5]

• Seattle Seahawks bio