The Buccaneers opened training camp Wednesday with one of their most important young defenders already on the sideline, and that absence only sharpened the spotlight on Tampa Bay’s cornerback depth.
Benjamin Morrison was working on the side with trainers at the start of the first practice of camp while dealing with a hamstring injury. For a player expected to battle Jacob Parrish for the starting job opposite Zyon McCollum, it was an unwelcome start to the summer.
Morrison’s health has been a recurring issue since he entered the league. As a rookie last year, he missed most of his offseason work and sat out seven regular-season games while dealing with a series of injuries. Now the same pattern is following him into Year 2.
That leaves the Buccaneers staring at a clear roster problem. Outside cornerback is their thinnest spot, and the current depth chart behind McCollum, Morrison, and Parish does not offer much comfort.
The backup group includes Demarion Williams, Josh Hayes, Kemon Hall, and undrafted rookie Ayden Garnes. Williams has appeared in 15 career games but has never started and has not seen meaningful defensive snaps since 2022.
Hayes has mainly been a special teams piece and has not fared well when asked to take on a bigger defensive role. Hall has been around since 2019 without making a start, and Garnes has yet to play in a preseason game.
That’s why the need for a veteran addition feels so obvious. Tampa Bay would benefit from a corner with experience who can steady the room and provide some insurance if the younger players miss time.
Rasul Douglas would have been the cleanest fit, but the Washington Commanders already took him off the market. Other names still available include Marshon Lattimore, Trevon Diggs, and Tre’Davious White. Each is past his peak, but all three bring the kind of track record that could help both on the field and in mentoring a young cornerback group.
The exact free-agent target is still up for debate, but the larger point is not. The Buccaneers need to add at least one veteran cornerback, and they can’t head into the season relying on only three experienced options when one of them has already had trouble staying healthy. If Jason Licht was still weighing whether to make the move, Morrison’s latest injury should have made the answer painfully clear.
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Bucs Camp Depth Already Takes A Hit In Two Key Battles
Training camp depth has already taken a small but meaningful hit for Tampa Bay, with cornerback Chase Lucas and defensive tackle Haggai Ndubuisi both landing on the Active/Physically Unable To Perform List. The moves do not remove either player from the picture entirely, since both still count toward the 90-man roster and can be activated before the 53-man deadline after the preseason, but they do interrupt two roster battles the Bucs were hoping to sort out early.
Lucas had been part of a cornerback group that did not have much margin for error, while Ndubuisi was among the linemen trying to carve out a role in a crowded competition. The Buccaneers also waived safety JaQurious Conley with a non-football injury designation, another reminder that the back end of the roster is already being tested before the first preseason snaps have even started. [Read more 🡒]
CeeDee Lamb Just Added To The Emeka Egbuka Hype In Tampa
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CeeDee Lamb added to the intrigue by giving Egbukas first-down celebration a strong endorsement, the kind of small but telling praise that tends to travel in receiver circles. For Tampa Bay, it is another reminder that Egbuka already has some league-wide respect, even as the next step is still about proving he can carry that momentum through a full season. [Read more 🡒]
Tristan Wirfs Just Got The Kind Of NFL Respect Bucs Fans Hate
Tristan Wirfs has become one of the leagues clearest success stories at left tackle, the kind of player Tampa Bay can point to as proof that a position switch does not have to mean a step back. He handled the move from right tackle to left tackle at a high level, earned All-Pro honors at both spots and backed it up with elite PFF grades in both pass protection and the run game last season.
So the surprise for Buccaneers fans is not that Wirfs made the NFL Top 100 list, but where he landed on it. At No. 52, he was recognized, just not in the way his production might suggest, and that only adds to the sense that he is still being treated like a player on the rise rather than the most accomplished name on Tampa Bays roster. For a young offensive line looking for a veteran anchor, Wirfs is already the standard, even if the rest of the league has not quite caught up. [Read more 🡒]