CHARLOTTE Johnathan Abram Jersey , N.C. (AP) — Gerald McCoy was a one-year deal worth up to $10.25 million — and a vegan lunch with some future teammates.When some of Carolina’s core players heard general manager Marty Hurney was considering signing the free agent defensive tackle, they organized a lunch at a local vegan restaurant during McCoy’s visit to Charlotte last week knowing the 31-year-old McCoy had given up eating meat five months ago.Luke Kuechly, Greg Olsen, Kawann Short, Shaq Thompson, Trai Turner and Christian McCaffrey all attended the lunch, hoping to convince their former division rival to sign with Carolina rather than the Baltimore Ravens or Cleveland Browns, the other two teams who were courting the six-time Pro Bowler.It worked better than the Panthers could have imagined.McCoy said the lunch — and camaraderie he noticed with the players — was a big reason why he signed with the Panthers.“Instant chemistry,” McCoy said Tuesday at an introductory news conference.McCoy said it felt as if he was back in high school again being recruited by Oklahoma.He recognized that the players could have been doing something else, but said it felt special that they showed up to give him a sales pitch and eat at a restaurant they normally wouldn’t visit.“I left that lunch feeling I could fit right in here,” McCoy said.The 31-year-old McCoy has been one of the better players at his position over the past nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and is the only NFL defensive tackle with at least six sacks in each of the past six seasons. He has 296 tackles and 54½ sacks during his career.Hurney said in a statement that “it’s great to have Gerald on our side now. We are very familiar with his skillset.”McCoy likes being on the same team as quarterback Cam Newton instead of chasing the former 2015 league MVP around the field twice a year.He’s admired Newton from a distance, calling him “the best escape artist in the league.”McCoy’s son is a big fan of Newton too, always using him to play on Madden football.McCoy isn’t worried about where he will fit in on Carolina’s defensive line, one that will rotate between a three- and four-man front this year.“In this league you have to be a Swiss army knife http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-trayvon-mullen-jersey ,” McCoy said. “And (defensive coordinator) Eric Washington has a great plan in place where we can move guys around.”McCoy said he’s a loyal team player.At Oklahoma he supported his school by going to volleyball, basketball and baseball games.That said, he doesn’t seem to have any ill feelings toward the Bucs jettisoning him after nine seasons and quickly giving away his No. 93 jersey to replacement Ndamukong Suh.“Business is business,” McCoy said. In 2012 Peyton Manning was released by the Colts. At that point, my perspective on this league changed. If you can let a person like Peyton Manning go, then anybody can be released. It’s a business.” ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The day that Patrick Mahomes checked into Scanlon Hall on the campus of Missouri Western for the start of training camp, he was greeted by Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka — the same trio that guided the young quarterback to a record-setting debut season as the starter.It was a welcoming, comforting reunion.The Chiefs went through a wholesale overhaul of their porous defense over the offseason, hiring a new coordinator, new assistants and bringing in eight new starters — give or take. But continuity is what defines the other side of the ball, and that could help Mahomes match or even surpass the 5,000-plus yards passing and 50 touchdown tosses he had while leading the Chiefs to the brink of a Super Bowl.“Obviously I feel different having a season under my belt where I got to play all 16 games in the season and then playoff games,” he said. “Just knowing what to do Maxx Crosby Jersey , another year under my belt and knowing what I need to do each and every day in order to have success on the field.”One of the biggest downfalls to success is change. Teams that win games, advance in the playoffs and win championships tend to lose their best coaches to better jobs at rival organizations.That was the case when then-Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson was plucked by Philadelphia, then guided the Eagles to a Super Bowl title. And it was the case a couple of years later, when Chicago took his replacement, Matt Nagy, and the Bears proceeded to march into the playoffs last season.Bieniemy got some looks for head coaching jobs after last season, too, but ultimately returned to the Chiefs as their offensive coordinator. And with Kafka back to tutor Mahomes, the brain trust that guided the Chiefs to a third consecutive AFC West title is back intact.That has allowed the Chiefs to build on last season, rather than spending time getting up to speed, and that means plugging even more information into their league MVP’s head.“He’s been challenged with the different plays that have been added,” Reid said, “and then some of the fundamental things that he’s working on. When I tell you he loves that stuff, he loves being coached. He wants to be coached hard. E.B. does a great job with him, Mike does a great job with him Hakeem Butler Jersey , of really challenging him. He thrives on that kind of stuff.”It isn’t just the coaching staff that returns together, either.Mahomes is still handing off to Damien Williams, who filled in admirably after the midseason loss of Kareem Hunt last season. He is still tossing passes to Tyreek Hill and Demarcus Robinson, enjoying a big-play safety valve in Travis Kelce and the protection of fullback Anthony Sherman.Up front, four of the Chiefs’ five starting offensive linemen return, as do a pair of backups in Cameron Erving — who has plenty of starting experience — and Kahlil McKenzie.The Chiefs could have eight new starters on defense. They have eight returning on offense.“When I got here it was such a young line,” left tackle Eric Fisher said, “but now we have a whole bunch of veteran dudes, and we had some injuries last year and guys stepped in. There’s no drop.”The newcomers to the offense figure to make it even better, too.Austin Reiter is stepping in for oft-injured center Mitch Morse, who departed in free agency. The Chiefs used their initial draft pick on wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who replaced underwhelming Chris Conley. And backup tight end Deon Yelder replaced drop-prone Demetrius Harris.In other words, there are plenty of reasons to expect the Chiefs’ offense to be just as dynamic as it was last season. Maybe even more.NOTES: DEs Frank Clark (wrist) and Alex Okafor (hip), DL Emmanuel Ogbah and WR Gehrig Dieter (back) did not practice Wednesday. … RB Damien Williams (hamstring) returned to the field for the first time since the first day of practice. He ran with the starters the second half of practice. … DEs Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon got time with the starters due to injuries at their position.
