PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : McCants Is Cut; Okoye Out for Season

Keith McCants, considered by many to be the best defensive prospect in the 1990 draft, was released after three mediocre seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Coach Sam Wyche said McCants, 25, no longer fits into Tampa Bay’s defense, which relies more on linebackers who can cover receivers than rushers such as the 6-foot-3, 265-pound McCants.

McCants was part of a defense at Alabama that produced two other high draft picks, Cornelius Bennett and Derrick Thomas, in the late 1980s. Many thought McCants would be the first player selected in 1990, but he slipped to No. 4 after reports that he had a bad knee.

Wyche said that McCants’ contract, which would have paid him an average of $1.23 million the next two seasons, was one of the reasons it was difficult to trade him.

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Christian Okoye, the career rushing leader for the Kansas City Chiefs, was placed on the injured reserve list due to a knee injury and will sit out the entire season. Okoye, who played at Azusa Pacific, is in his seventh season in the league, all with the Chiefs. He started only five games last season, when he had a career-low 448 yards, giving him a total of 4,897.