Rondé Barber: Start Jacob Parrish, Limit Benjamin Morrison
November 20th, 2025
Stud Bucs rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish.
The Godfather of Buccaneers defensive backs has spoken.
With Jamel Dean injured (hip), Bucs icon Rondé Barber wants stud rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish to replace him.
On the WFLA-TV show that bears his name, Barber said it’s sort of a simple call because Parrish is a significantly better player than his rookie teammate Benjamin Morrrison, who has seen significant snaps at outside cornerback. The Bucs drafted Parrish in Round 3 this year and Morrison in Round 2.
Parrish has been the team’s starting nickel cornerback, aka part-time cornerback, all season.
Morrison has shown too many flaws, per Barber.
“Limit [Morrison’s] snaps because Benjamin Morrison, I think he’s going to be a good player, but there’s a lot of busts happening right now. The game almost seems too big for him. There’s moments in the game that seem to big,” Barber said.
“There’s some things that he does technically, too, Benjamin Morrison. … Like he takes too many steps off the line of scrimmage when he’s in man coverage. He takes too many steps when he’s transitioning. Those things get you when teams are going to start targeting you.”
Barber sharing a rough technical assessment of Morrison left Joe shaken at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters. Assuming Barber is correct, then why wasn’t that fixed months or weeks ago?
Yes, Joe realizes Morrison arrived injured/healing in Tampa in late April, and then he got hurt in training camp. Still, Morrison having technique issues is a greater hurdle to clear than only fixing mental mistakes.
Perhaps Morrison can be a catalyst to fixing the Bucs’ broken kickoff coverage this week while Christian Izien returns to nickel?
November 20th, 2025 at 9:29 am
Who plays the slot?
November 20th, 2025 at 9:35 am
Yes agree with Ronde. I think Morrison just needs time to develop. In the mean time Parrish has proven to be capable and is playing well. Please remember Ronde did not play all that well when he started. Some players just need more time. With that said Parrish is making plays, while Morrison is giving up big plays and teams are clearly exploiting him.
November 20th, 2025 at 9:37 am
Izien to the slot.
November 20th, 2025 at 9:38 am
I’ve been flying the flag for Morrison for a good year, clearly – I am wrong. So far. I flew the flag for Bryce Young over CJ Stroud and everyone all but called me a ‘tard. Well, look whos throwing for 400 yards against the Falcons and has played much better than Stroud the past YEAR? The point, we gotta let this thing play out. The Bucs arent winning the Superbowl this year ok, Morrison needs the playing time regardless. But for now, yeah, not great Benji….
November 20th, 2025 at 9:41 am
I agree.
BM has a long way to go…
IF – he can stay healthy long enough to “go” anywhere.
Seems like another 2nd round bust by our “ring of honor” GM.
November 20th, 2025 at 9:42 am
“ Assuming Barber is correct, then why wasn’t that fixed months or weeks ago?”
Bad coaching and coaches. Starting at the top.
November 20th, 2025 at 9:45 am
Morrison will be fine but he is not the greatest option as of right now. Let’s also not forget that his role as outside CB is a lot more difficult than playing slot corner, which typically sets rookie CBs up for success. Basically it means that while Parrish has been doin real well in the slot it may not translate to outside CB. No harm in trying it out though
November 20th, 2025 at 9:48 am
Keep in mind Morrison has been hurt all year.
November 20th, 2025 at 9:48 am
Ugo – GREAT Point, Parrish got cooked last time he lined up outside. Diff ball game outside of those numbers. Parrish has def been the more impactful player this year though regardless
November 20th, 2025 at 9:49 am
If this was a bottom feeder, rebuilding team then yeah, let Morrison take his lumps on the field and develop.
That’s not the case. This is a playoff team. The guy is obviously not ready, and putting him just to “get him reps” when a game is on the line is idiotic.
Start your best players – Morrison isn’t close to being one of them.
November 20th, 2025 at 9:55 am
@ Coconut
“Keep in mind Morrison has been hurt all year.”
And his senior year at ND.
And his junior year at ND.
LOL!
China dolls usually don’t make it in the NFL…
But hey – at least our head coach was able to give his buddy’s son a few million dollars for nothing.
What a joke.
November 20th, 2025 at 9:55 am
That would make too much sense for the defensive genius.
November 20th, 2025 at 10:00 am
“Like he takes too many steps off the line of scrimmage when he’s in man coverage. He takes too many steps when he’s transitioning. Those things get you when teams are going to start targeting you.”
This is a great observation, it’s almost like he’s reacting in a way where he’s helping the receivers separate. We’ve seen poor eye discipline in zone coverage as well. Yea he’s missed time in terms of reps, but he’s had as much time as anybody else to dig into his playbook and ask questions about his responsibility in
November 20th, 2025 at 10:02 am
Parrish is a tackling machine. We would get better play at corner if we move Parrish to outside corner but he’ll have more tackles in the slot. And we’re fresh out of tackling machines.
November 20th, 2025 at 10:03 am
Poor coaching, period.
November 20th, 2025 at 10:08 am
WBL
You think having a father that was in the NFL would give you a leg up as far as general knowledge.
November 20th, 2025 at 10:17 am
“Jmarkbuc Says:
November 20th, 2025 at 10:08 am
WBL
You think having a father that was in the NFL would give you a leg up as far as general knowledge.”
Nope. But it does give you connections to call in a favor to an old teammate in a position to do so.
November 20th, 2025 at 10:39 am
“You think having a father that was in the NFL would give you a leg up as far as general knowledge.”
Maybe, but I think being drafted, coming to rookie camp, having your digitized playbook on a tablet you can take anywhere, while also being off the field due to injury freed Morrison up to be a book..er..tablet worm. Obviously Morrison needs more reps, but the way we’re going about getting those reps aren’t helping the team in my opinion.
November 20th, 2025 at 10:49 am
I’ve been singing this tune since the first defensive snap of the preseason when Parrish actually broke up a pass in tight coverage.
November 20th, 2025 at 11:00 am
testing
November 20th, 2025 at 11:10 am
K-State has better defensive coaches than ND, and they are brutal on fundamentals, with a big dash of aggressiveness. Note to self for draft day.
November 20th, 2025 at 11:21 am
When I see Parrish in coverage he is usually next to the WR. When I see Morrison or McCollum they are usually 5 or 10 yards off. Sometimes McCollum isn;t even in the same zip code when he is in off coverage.