Significant Ali Marpet Return

August 14th, 2017

Ali Marpet’s right ankle might still be taped up and be an area of concern, but he was back in pads working against the Jaguars on the Jacksonville practice fields today.

Marpet sat out the preseason opener on Friday night following two practices off because of the ankle.

Teams don’t have to disclose injury details in preseason the way they do in the regular season. But Dirk Koetter allayed a lot of fears about Marpet’s ankle during his post-practice news conference today.

“Yeah, we got Ali back, got Evan Smith back out there today, George Johnson was back today. Ali definitely firms up the middle for us,” Koetter said. “We had some identification errors in the run period but it wasn’t the centers’ fault. Getting Ali back – if it was a [regular-season] game, he would have been good to go in Cincinnati but it’s good to get him back. It’s good to get all those guys back.”

Awesome news to hear that Marpet would have played Friday night if it mattered.

No shots needed for Joe tonight, but Joe Hawley was very solid at center against the Bengals. Having Hawley for true depth this season would be a bonus.

20 Responses to “Significant Ali Marpet Return”

  1. Nole on Sat- Bucc on Sun Says:

    Let’s go Mongo..

  2. DirtyIrishman81 Says:

    Cheers to that

  3. Pa Privateer Says:

    Everything will work out on the OL this year. The just need a little more time to gel with the switches. I think by mid season they will be rolling out an punishing rushing attack on everyone.

  4. Buc4Lyfe79 Says:

    Having the luxury of a healthy Hawley on stand-by is just that. The move for him to emergency stand-by saves his knees from the grind of an entire season, keeps him fresh and might just prolong his career. I hope he’s able to stay with the Bucs for atleast another 3-4 years in his current role. GO BUCS!!!

  5. Pickgrin Says:

    Glad to hear the ankle sprain wasn’t serious. Marpet needs his reps this pre-season.

    Buc4Lyfe – Hawley may well be on the bubble this year – much less 3-4 years down the road.

  6. Wausa Says:

    Biggest concern is our backups at OT.
    They looked awful against Cincy.

  7. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Paul Brown stadium has some of the nastiest artificial turf in the league. No need to pound on that concrete with a bum ankle.

  8. SB Says:

    JOE we NEED a “Like” button ……………C’mon man get into the 21st century.
    I wanted to ‘like’ Nos’ comment.

  9. Nole on Sat- Bucc on Sun Says:

  10. First Down Tampa Bay Says:

    THE MAGIC MARPET WILL TAKE US TO THE PLAYOFFS

  11. WesTampaBuc Says:

    https://youtu.be/n70mgb–yhY #StickCarrierAnthem

  12. Mikadeemas Says:

    Need a thumbs down for the negative Nancies too! Go BUCS! And Chris Meyers IS the worst!! Did ya hear him on VHIII’s interception!? Again, GO BUCS!!!

  13. Drew Says:

    Like button (:)

  14. Drew Says:

    @Joe…

    Some of us may need a self destruct button at times as the season progresses on.

    🙂

  15. Drew Says:

    Mikadeemas… great idea, Joe can set a your out of here limit for a day of relief from negative posters.

  16. Buc4Lyfe79 Says:

    @Joe, Bucs sign place kicker Zack Hocker?

  17. DRFEELGOOD Says:

    I may sound like a hypocrite here, because I was really expecting an Aguayo rebound. But, I firmly believe that his being cut will make a legit positive impact on our Bucs. If we fans were scared every time he lined up, imagine how the rest of the team felt!! Keeping him after that colossal failure would have sent a bad message to this team of young, developing winners. I hope he “kicks” ass elsewhere. I really do. Because Nick Folk may just be the karma return for us inexplicably cutting Matt Bryant, only to have him continue to be great for the ATL. Go look at Folk’s stats over the last several years. You’ll sleep better tonight. GO BUCS!!!

  18. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Pickgrin Says
    “Hawley may well be on the bubble this year – much less 3-4 years down the road.”

    I think there is a very high chance he makes the team…EDS can backup Center, but he is absolutely horrible at the position. When healthy, Hawley is a starting quality center. When healthy. Cant get a better backup situation for center.

    And if he does well in rotations during games? Trade value.

  19. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Buc4Lyfe79 Says
    “Bucs sign place kicker Zack Hocker? ”

    I predicted a kicker being signed by this past Sunday, and that’s when the signed him.

    He’s likely camp meat, but how cool would it be if he lit it up in preseason and practice to steal the job from Folk?

  20. 813bucboi Says:

    Ali definitely firms up the middle for us

    that’s for damn sure….after watching Hawley getting blown up near the goal line, I rather have josh allen as the back up….kid looked strong in the middle at center and can also play guard….GO BUCS!!!!