The Buccaneers are taking another hit in the secondary, and this one stings for more than one reason. Veteran cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting has been poached from Tampa Bay’s practice squad, leaving the Bucs even thinner at a position group that was already stretched.
Murphy-Bunting had only recently been brought back after Tampa Bay set its initial 53-man roster before the season. That early roster carried just five cornerbacks, and four of them were either rookies - Keionte Scott and Ayden Garnes - or in their second season - Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison. Adding Murphy-Bunting to the practice squad gave the Bucs a proven veteran, but it also brought back a familiar name from one of the franchise’s brightest stretches.
His Tampa legacy is already set. Murphy-Bunting was a second-round pick in 2019 and became an important part of the defense during the run that ended with the team’s Super Bowl LV title. He made three interceptions in that playoff push, and one of them came against Aaron Rodgers, setting up Tom Brady’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Scotty Miller just before halftime of the NFC Championship Game.
After leaving Tampa, Murphy-Bunting spent the 2023 season with the Tennessee Titans and then signed with the Arizona Cardinals the following year. A serious knee injury in March wiped out his 2025 season before it could begin, and the Cardinals later released him at cutdowns, which opened the door for his return to Tampa.
Now the Buccaneers are back where they started, only with less margin for error. The timing is especially rough with Tampa Bay off to a 0-4 start and Benjamin Morrison dealing with another injury in what has already been a rocky early stretch of his career. Morrison missed the Week 4 loss because of a calf injury and was not able to practice on Monday as the Bucs get ready for Thursday Night Football on the road against the Cowboys.
The loss of Murphy-Bunting would be tough for any team, but for Tampa Bay it comes when the depth chart is already looking fragile. It is fair to wonder why the Buccaneers didn’t simply sign him to their own 53-man roster, especially with Morrison’s latest setback.
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