The Bucs got a key piece back on the field Friday morning at the AdventHealth Training Center, as second-year cornerback Benjamin Morrison rejoined practice after missing the first two days of training camp with a hamstring issue.
Morrison had not been part of the early warmups when camp opened Wednesday, instead working off to the side with a trainer before eventually moving over to the first field and watching with his jersey on and helmet in hand. Todd Bowles addressed the situation after that first practice and kept the update brief.
“He’s just still working on his hamstring a little bit,” Bowles said. “But he’s day-by-day.”
He was also not seen early in Thursday’s practice, though he later joined the team on the field. By then, his workload still looked limited at best. Friday brought the clearer sign Tampa Bay was waiting for: Morrison was out there in his No. 21 jersey and shells, warming up with the full team at the start of practice.
That matters for a player who has already spent a lot of time trying to get right. Morrison has been dealing with hamstring trouble since OTAs, and the Bucs are likely to handle him carefully given both the injury history and the need to have him ready for the season. He also has plenty of catching up to do after missing so much camp and preseason time as a rookie, then losing more time this summer.
Now that he’s back, the competition for Tampa Bay’s No. 2 cornerback job can finally start to take shape.
Jacob Parrish, another 2025 draft pick, appears to have the early edge to start opposite Zyon McCollum. Parrish, a third-round pick, lined up at nickel last season, but the Bucs made it clear this offseason that he’d get a shot to compete for an outside starting role.
For Morrison, the first job is simple: stay on the field. He missed time last August and then appeared in only 10 of 17 games as a rookie, making three starts.
In those games, he had four passes defensed and no interceptions. PFF gave him a 47.0 overall grade, including 50.0 in coverage, 35.5 against the run and 40.3 in tackling.
On 40 targets, he gave up 23 completions for 344 yards, an average of 15.0 yards per catch, and three touchdowns.
The missed OTAs and minicamp didn’t help his push, but Friday gave him a fresh start. The Bucs still need him to get rolling quickly and look more like the Notre Dame version of Morrison - the one who had people talking about him as a potential first-round pick before his hip injury.
Even if he doesn’t beat out Parrish for the No. 2 spot, Tampa Bay is going to need him. The cornerback room has very little depth, which makes Morrison an important part of this defense whether he’s starting outside or filling in behind someone else.
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