Todd Bowles Talks Options With Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison Ruled Out
October 3rd, 2025
Josh Hayes
The Bucs will be digging deep into their cornerbacks depth Sunday in Seattle.
Joe asked Todd Bowles about that today.
Bowles had a smile on his face. Joe couldn’t tell if it was a nervous grin.
“How do you feel about who is going to start the cornerback position and who might that be, Coach?”
Bowles laughed. “Oh, I feel great!” Bowles replied. “It might be [Jacob] Parrish, might be [Kindle] Vildor, might be [Josh] Hayes, depending on the packages.”
This is the exact reason/scenario why the Bucs signed Vildor in free agency. The veteran has starting experience and was with the Lions last season playing in big games. He was a Bears fifth-round pick in 2020. Bowles praised his versatility in training camp.
As for Hayes, well, he’s one small reason why the Bucs drafted two cornerbacks (Morrison and Parrish) and went shopping in free agency. But with Seattle not having a super dangerous receiving corps, Joe isn’t terribly scared of Hayes getting on the field.
Joe’s not sure how Bowles will proceed. Look for a lot of adjustments on Sunday.
October 3rd, 2025 at 12:43 pm
jaxson njigba-smith will go for over 150 and 2 TDs
Make sure you start him in your FF
October 3rd, 2025 at 12:52 pm
We knew the injuries were coming
The only question was When
October 3rd, 2025 at 12:57 pm
We’re in trouble if Hayes has to play on Sunday
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:00 pm
Bucs4Ever, your pessimism suggests you ought to change your screen name.
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:18 pm
Bucs still have two very good corners plus two very good safeties to back them up. That is better than most teams.
Too bad Izien is hurt, though.
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:28 pm
Even if Dean finishes the season strong (whenever he comes back) no way do you resign him. He just can’t stay healthy. It’s ridiculously predictable. I’ll give his intended replacement Morrison a pass for now but hope he’s not a yearly hamstring injury waiting to happen like Mike. But having veterans with a lot of starting experience like Vildor and Hall on the roster was a savvy move by Licht.
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:29 pm
Elevate Bryce Hall from the PS for criminies sake.
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:31 pm
Bus4 & PSL –
Can 2 things be true?
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:34 pm
Bucs4Ever = Jeff
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:43 pm
Whenever someone trashes Jamel Dean I immediately put them into the category of “doesn’t know football”. He can’t stay healthy and definitely isn’t a ballhawk but he is a VERY VERY good corner
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:43 pm
Hall?
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:50 pm
We’re still better off (in the secondary) than we were last year.
Sucks but I’d rather be healthier later in the year vs early…. If we can stay afloat till we start getting guys back we’ll be fine.
Offense needs to be more effective and efficient, ST needs to get their act together, and we need takeaways.
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:55 pm
Bucs4Eva acting as thought McCollum isn’t a good CB in his own right.
Defense been playing well. Darnold can get rattled. Todd might be able to make some magic happen. Might be our best shot at this point.
October 3rd, 2025 at 1:58 pm
Bowles could ring up Plan 9 from outer space.
October 3rd, 2025 at 2:01 pm
And why did we draft an injury prone cornerback to replace an injury prone cornerback?
What about Bryce Hall?
October 3rd, 2025 at 2:06 pm
Morrison looks like he’s going to be a bust. He’s about as reliable as Kancey.
October 3rd, 2025 at 2:07 pm
@ Bucs4Ever – I’ve been playing him in A LOT of my DFS lineups for the past THREE seasons (was a great cheap value option as a #3 a couple of seasons ago), & picked him in at least 75% of my lineups this season. Prob close to around 20% of them last season. He’s a bonafide #1-WR in this league.
October 3rd, 2025 at 2:11 pm
It’d be real nice to see the Bucs go up there and steal-one’ in this Sunday’s late afternoon spot in front of more eyeballs, and setting up a BIG game in the same time-slot for next Sundays, against San Fran (especially since they WON last night). DON’T screw-it up Bucs! Let’s set-up that SHOWDOWN at HOME next weekend.
October 3rd, 2025 at 2:29 pm
I’m not Jeff but I am a realist. Seattle is playing well. We are pretty banged up.
West coast trips usually don’t go well for us.
October 3rd, 2025 at 2:31 pm
Being available KINDA MATTERS ROD
October 3rd, 2025 at 2:37 pm
Bucs have the Seahawks (3-1), the 49ers (4-1), the Lions (3-1) then the Saints (0-4) coming up before our BYE. That’s 3 very good teams & another that always plays us tough before we get a week’s break to hopefully do some healing up.
Almost every position group has already been impacted by injuries. We’ve already got 8 guys on our IR, and quite a few others on our active roster who are beaten up & won’t dress for the Seattle game (Dean, Morrison, Izien, Irving, Evans). Heck, right now seems like we’re holding this thing together with duct tape & chewing gum.
I honestly don’t have any idea what to expect Sunday. We always seem to struggle when playing on the West Coast. Seattle’s playing some good ball (#6 offense & #2 defense). And yet, we MIGHT be able to beat them, but we’ll probably have to do it with defense, with our offense hopefully scoring our current average 24 PPG.
Offensively the Seahawks love to run it (123 rushing attempts this season to only 103 passes & 6 sacks). That means they’re running it on 53% of their plays, and that’s held true in all but 1 of their games. And the 1 game they lost (to San Fran 17-13) was because the 49ers didn’t let them have the ball (Seattle only had it for 22 minutes & 50 plays, making 2 giveaways in there). IOW, DEFENSE whooped ’em. We can do the same thing with some (1) solid Run Defense; and (2) playing them tight in Pass Defense. Sounds very similar to what we did to the Eagles in the 2nd half last Sunday?
October 3rd, 2025 at 2:59 pm
I think this sets up Parrish for a couple INTs.
October 3rd, 2025 at 3:00 pm
If I am DC, I am playing McCollum and Parrish as my outside CBs in base defense, and having Parrish follow JSN into the slot. Parrish has been very impressive, he has been as fast and aggressive for the Bucs as he was in college.
October 3rd, 2025 at 3:24 pm
DR, were you around when the Bucs knocked off Seattle in their crib a few years ago? Glennon, yeah that guy, was the starting QB. Bucs had a weaker team, talent wise than they do now. That was the same year when the Seahawks were THE big boo-hoos in the NFL. I think they won the SB. Pete Carroll was coming into his glory as the HC. Only reason I focus on Seattle is they came into the NFL the same year as the Bucs. Plus, I’ve been out there, and it is a gorgeous city. If Grizzard would get his act together, Bucs will win this one. 4-1.
October 3rd, 2025 at 3:31 pm
somehow the line moved down to +3.5
vegas…they know something
October 3rd, 2025 at 3:48 pm
I keep hearing the press from Tampa talking about how SEA is meh – has anyone watched games outside of Tampa?
Ira said their DL is a bunch of no names – and now JSN doesn’t scare you?
McDonald has a more productive defense than the guru and Darnolds story is the same as Bakers from national media perspective
This could get ugly
October 3rd, 2025 at 4:03 pm
Macdonald is ANOTHER one of those ‘young’ STUD Head Coaches. He’s from the Defensive side of the ball, but he’s doing a fine job out there!!!!
October 3rd, 2025 at 4:09 pm
We have the most fragile team in the entire NFL. It’s embarrassing.
October 3rd, 2025 at 4:15 pm
Keep Darnold under pressure.
October 3rd, 2025 at 4:31 pm
Depth was our weakness last year. We’ve spent an offseason addressing just that. I think losing Wirfs and Goedecke and Mauch hurt us though. But we’re not dead yet. In fact, if we lose 2 in a row, and I don’t care who we’re playing, then my confidence in the team will drop by a step. This team prides itself on no excuses. Next man up. I believe Philly is fixing to start losing. Seattle is probably better than Philly so we will have to play a much stronger game. Somehow, I think we will. Still thinking 14-3.
October 3rd, 2025 at 5:01 pm
Its not ideal but this isnt why the sky is falling.
Zyon McCullom CB1, Jacob Parrish CB2, Chirstian Izien NCB.
Yeah there will be a little drop off, but I’m more concerned about the right side of the OL, the non existent pass rush, and the special-ed teams play.
October 3rd, 2025 at 5:29 pm
@WiscoJoe
This is exactly what I was saying about Morrison all along & why I would’ve considered passing on him.
October 3rd, 2025 at 5:40 pm
BUCSONDECK24 – Bowles has already said that Izien is OUT.
Not sure what to do for the nickleback. Could switch Tykee back to there. Just depends whether we are stronger at backup safety, backup corner or backup nickelback.
October 3rd, 2025 at 6:11 pm
Cooper kupp hasn’t scored this season I think we find a way to gift wrap a td his way crazy as it sounds.
October 3rd, 2025 at 6:14 pm
@Jeebs I agree
@Bucs4ever …. Vegas knows something alright, they know the Bucs and NFCS as a whole are looked down upon by the general football watching and gambling public. Easy to make us dogs on the road. We were dogs to the Falcons and Texans and Seattle is better than them on most days (days Darnold is competent.) We always get good gambling odds, Bucs were +120 to win the division again haha.
Word is Tykee is going to NCB and Merriweather at S.
I think we outmatch Seattle and should win this game. They are missing their best CB and a S. Our OL gets a 2nd game together, Godwin looks good. I’m not saying we should roll, their rest advantage sucks, home field and they have a good squad. We need to stop the run as usual and blanket JSN.
October 3rd, 2025 at 7:31 pm
orlbucfan … ‘were you around when the Bucs knocked off Seattle in their crib a few years ago?’
Had to look back quite a few years actually to find the last time Bucs beat the Seahawks in THEIR crib. From what I found it was the 2009 Bucs (3-13) coached by Raheem and we whooped them 24-7 that year (and yes I did have season tickets then but it was a long drive to Seattle so I just watched it on TV).
QB that day was Josh Freeman and his backup was … Byron Leftwich.
Looking back over the years, seems like we beat them when they come here and they beat us when we go there (just a generalization, but seems to hold mostly true). Well, until this year … WE GOT THIS.
o 2009: Bucs 24 Seahawks 7 … Seattle
o 2010: Bucs 38 Seahawks 15 … Tampa
o 2013: Seahawks 27 Bucs 24 … Seattle
o 2016: Bucs 14 Seahawks 5 … Tampa
o 2019: Seahawks 40 Bucs 34 … Seattle
o 2022: Bucs 21 Seahawks 16 … Tampa
October 3rd, 2025 at 8:14 pm
leave parrish at nickel. i don’t think they can exploit hayes or hall too much on the outside, but if we move tykee to nickel i think we can definitely be punished at safety
October 3rd, 2025 at 9:29 pm
Seems to me like Bowles is just itching to see Parrish play outside….
I kind of am as well.
If Izien is good to go – then your best lineup likely is to put Parrish outside and have Izien play slot CB.
If Izien is not available – then I’d think it might be best to leave Parrish at Nickle and have either Hall or Vildor play Dean’s spot for this game Sunday.
October 3rd, 2025 at 9:39 pm
I’ll say this much, the Detroit Lions fans were celebrating when Vildor left town – they hated him. Hometown fans generally vastly overrate their hometown talent, so when they’re cheering someone leaving, and you sign them, that’s almost always a very bad thing. In preseason, I wasn’t impressed with what I saw. Personally I’d much rather have Hall playing over this guy – but I’m hoping Vildor proves me wrong.
October 3rd, 2025 at 9:45 pm
draft two more corners next april these guys are fragile!
October 3rd, 2025 at 10:45 pm
I’m really not that stressed Bryce Hall Vildor Hayes Parrish Zyon there’s enough depth there match up against Seattle Even Tykee can play Nickle an Parrish can play outside they should let Parrish Follow Smith around I think he matches up great with him Parrish is out quickest shiftiest corner the match up I’m most worried about us There TEs an our LBs they have a good group of TEs an our Coverage with LBs hasnt been the best this year but we should be able to shut down the Run an hopefully Bowles can get some Pressure on Darnold Early an often
October 4th, 2025 at 9:49 am
What abt giving Bryce Hall some run isn’t he on the PS as well?
October 4th, 2025 at 12:15 pm
We have, by far, the best secondary depth we’ve ever had. That’s a testament to the front office.
October 4th, 2025 at 2:28 pm
Why did we draft another brittle CB and think things would workout differently? Dean goes down- this should have been Morrisons time to shine… so much for that. He will obv hang around for a while given his high draft status, but so far doesn’t look promising at all