Benjamin Morrison arrived in Tampa with the kind of buzz that makes a second-round pick feel a whole lot bigger. When the Buccaneers grabbed him in the 2025 NFL Draft, plenty of fans saw a steal - a Notre Dame corner with the talent to go much earlier and the kind of upside that suggested he could step in and start right away.
That optimism has cooled fast.
A year and a half later, Morrison’s story with the Bucs has become less about his upside and more about whether he can stay on the field long enough to matter. Last season set the tone.
He got hurt immediately, then had a hard time shaking the injury bug through training camp, preseason and the regular season in 2025. In all, Morrison appeared in just ten games and started only three.
Even when he did play, he often looked out of sync, and that likely had a lot to do with how little practice time he was able to bank because of the injuries.
Now he’s back in the same spot in 2026.
Morrison is again dealing with injuries in training camp, and while the issues may not be major, the bigger problem is the pattern. He’s missing time again, and that raises the possibility that he could also be limited when the preseason rolls around if he can’t get healthy soon.
Plenty of people still assume Morrison will be in the starting mix at cornerback alongside Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish. But that’s far from a sure thing if he keeps fighting through injuries. In the NFL, availability is everything, and right now Morrison is not offering the kind of reliability the Bucs need from that spot.
That opens the door for other corners who have been standing out in camp. Rookie Keionte Scott from Miami has impressed, veteran Damarion Williams has been making noise, and undrafted corner Ayden Garnes has also turned heads. If Morrison keeps missing time, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see one of those players climb ahead of him on the depth chart.
Tampa Bay needs answers in the cornerback room, and sitting on the sideline doesn’t help anybody. At this point, the concern isn’t just about Morrison’s current camp absences.
It’s about his overall health and whether the Bucs can afford to count on him long term. If they want more stability at the position, they may have to be careful about leaning too hard on a corner whose availability has already become a question.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Camp Is Creating Early Winners And Losers On Defense
Eight practices into training camp, the Buccaneers are already getting a clearer sense of which young defenders are pushing their way into the conversation. David Walker, Rueben Bain Jr., Josiah Trotter and Ayden Garnes have all turned heads early, giving Tampa Bay some encouraging depth looks as the defense ramps up toward joint practices with the Jets and the preseason opener.
Not every camp story has been a rise, though, and the early grouping of winners and losers is being shaped by availability as much as performance. Benjamin Morrison has been working through a nagging hamstring issue and has slipped behind in the outside cornerback competition, while Devin Culp has also had a tougher time keeping pace. For a team trying to sort out roles before the preseason games begin, those early absences can matter almost as much as the highlights. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Cornerback Depth Issue Is Fueling A Roster Push Fans Should Watch
Training camp depth charts have a way of changing fast, and the Buccaneers are dealing with that reality at cornerback. With Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish sidelined or limited by injuries, Tampa Bay has had to lean harder on the rest of the room, creating more practice reps and more visibility for younger defenders trying to carve out a role.
Ayden Garnes and Damarion "Pepe" Williams have been among the players getting that extra attention, and Williams in particular has taken advantage of the opening. The second-year defensive back already has NFL time with the Ravens and Seahawks, and he has been showing up in camp with plays that stand out to the coaches, which is exactly the kind of response the Bucs need while the position group waits to get healthier. [Read more 🡒]