The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Benjamin Morrison has made significant progress after missing a large portion of training camp with a lingering leg injury, but he admitted that his extended absence has put his chances of starting Week 1 in jeopardy; his goal remains clear: be on the field and earn a starting role when the Buccaneers open the regular season.
Morrison returned to 11-on-11 work Thursday, marking another important step in a long road back. He had been dealing with leg and hamstring injuries since the offseason and didn’t participate in the team’s first joint practices with the Jets. He finally began seeing more work last week before taking another significant step forward. Morrison entered training camp as one of Tampa Bay’s primary candidates to start at outside cornerback opposite Zyon McCollum. With Jamel Dean leaving in free agency, the Buccaneers needed Morrison to make the jump from promising second-year player to legitimate starter. Instead, he has spent much of camp watching from the sideline.
Missing valuable practices means missing opportunities to build chemistry, get comfortable in Todd Bowles’ defense, and compete directly with Jacob Parrish and Keionte Scott for snaps. The longer Morrison remains limited, the more difficult it becomes to simply assume he will claim the starting job he was expected to compete for. Morrison’s talent has never been the question. As a rookie, he appeared in 10 games and made three starts, finishing with 26 tackles, four passes defensed and a fumble recovery. He also finished the season strongly, starting the final three games and not allowing a completion on three targets in the Week 17 matchup with Miami, according to Next Gen Stats.
Now, Morrison has to make up for lost time. His return to team drills is encouraging, but with Week 1 rapidly approaching, every practice matters. Morrison still has his sights set on starting, but he also knows that simply wanting the job won’t be enough. He’ll have to show the Buccaneers he can stay healthy, get back up to speed, and prove he belongs on the field when the games start counting.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Benjamin Morrison Admits Week 1 Starting Job Is in Jeopardy
Reporting by Ashlie Abrahams, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ashlie Abrahams, Buccaneers Wire | USA TODAY Network
