The Buccaneers took a calculated swing on Benjamin Morrison in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and that bet is already looking shaky.
Tampa Bay knew exactly what it was buying. Morrison came into the draft with a long injury file, starting with a bilateral hip issue that required multiple corrective surgeries and later including shoulder surgery in 2023.
That history pushed him down boards, even though he was widely viewed as a first-round talent. When he was still there at No. 53 overall, the Buccaneers decided the upside was worth the gamble.
That upside is easy to see on paper. At Notre Dame, Morrison produced nine interceptions and 12 passes broken up, and he paired that ball production with elite coverage numbers.
He finished with a 90.5 PFF coverage grade and allowed just a 45% completion percentage when targeted. For a team that saw him as a possible steal, the appeal was obvious.
The problem is that Tampa Bay has barely gotten to see any of it.
Morrison missed his entire rookie preseason because of a nagging hamstring injury, then sat out seven games during his first NFL season as injuries kept interrupting his year. Now the same issue has followed him into training camp, where he has been sidelined the whole time with another hamstring injury.
That’s a tough development for a Buccaneers defense that expected more from him in year two. With Jamel Dean gone in free agency, Morrison was supposed to be in the mix for a major role. Instead, second-year cornerback Jacob Parrish has had the chance to seize the starting outside cornerback job while Morrison watches from the sideline.
There are still reasons Tampa Bay liked him in the first place, and there’s still time for him to change the story. But the clock is ticking, and the list of missed chances is getting longer.
The draft board also offered alternatives. Darien Porter and Xavier Watts were among the other defensive backs available when the Buccaneers made the pick, and both have already been more impactful early in their careers.
That doesn’t automatically make Morrison the wrong choice. It does, however, make the current situation hard to ignore. His margin for error is shrinking, and Todd Bowles didn’t exactly sound encouraged Sunday when he was asked whether Morrison was any closer to returning.
“He’s the same as usual.”
That was the answer, and it landed like one. In a season with big expectations and real pressure, Tampa Bay can’t afford to keep waiting forever on a player who keeps missing his chance to get on the field.
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