Todd Bowles Has A Couple Of Decisions To Make
August 27th, 2026
Will he start Friday?
Joe has no idea how much thought coaches put into a worthless preseason game, especially the last one. That’s usually a game for guys who need work and/or are on the bubble. Last time to make a good impression.
As KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles said yesterday for those players, “Play [your] butts off.”
But two questions loom for Bowles and his staff that he had no answer for yesterday.
The first is, who starts at quarterback tomorrow night in the final worthless preseason game of the summer? Bowles already said the projected starters for Week 1 at Cincinnati will not play. So no Baker Mayfield.
That leaves the Bucs with Jake Browning, Jalon Daniels and Connor Bazelak. Bowles noted there has been no decision on a starter.
“Not yet,” Bowles said. “We’re going to sit down and meet about it.”
Then there is oft-injured Benjamin Morrison. The second-year cornerback has missed quite a bit of practice, but he has practiced for a little over a week and has not (yet) pulled a hamstring. He certainly needs the reps but Bowles isn’t sure if he’s well enough for game action.
“He looked OK in practice,” Bowles said of Morrison. “We’re going to talk about the guys who are going to play, so it will be interesting to see.
“I’d like to see him out there and [see him] get some snaps in because he hasn’t played all preseason, but we’ll see.”
The thing with Morrison, he’s so brittle that just playing the guy in a worthless preseason game, you’re liable to lose him for two or three regular-season games with yet another pulled hamstring.
So with Morrison, it’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t. He needs the work, but can the Bucs afford to risk losing him?
August 27th, 2026 at 12:08 am
If Morrison is that fragile, and so far the magic 8 Ball has replied Yes, with frequency, might as well solidify that fact sooner rather than later. He needs reps. He’s apparently marginally healthy. Play him and see how he does. I mean why not? If he makes it through unscathed, great. If not, then he’ll have some time to heal up before his next pre-injury showing.
August 27th, 2026 at 12:56 am
Cj Carr
August 27th, 2026 at 1:04 am
Word is that only baker and JD got reps today at QB. The writing seems to be on the wall that we will head into the season with baker #1 and JD #2 with probably browning on the PS. Barring something crazy happening between now and cut day of course.
August 27th, 2026 at 1:19 am
I would like to see Jalon Daniels start Friday, if for no other reason then to see him against slightly better competition.
Have Browning close out the game. Maybe he’ll finally get a win.
August 27th, 2026 at 2:02 am
“So with Morrison, it’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” And yet his already established collegiate injury history was well known prior to draft day…
@Joe, since the fact that a player’s best ability is his availability on game day, just wondering how many more games Morrison has to miss before an article gets penned comparing the corners drafted after Morrison and the impacts their availability has meant to their teams so far.
No disrespect meant to Morrison and I sincerely hope he never suffers another injury that keeps him off the field but at this point, until he can prove otherwise, his name should be Brittle Morrison; which Jason Licht knew was already the case when he drafted him.
August 27th, 2026 at 5:24 am
Play Morrison Friday and if he breaks down yet again, waive him and get a real vet CB after cut downs. Never should have drafted the guy, not durable enough for the NFL.
Daniels needs to start on Friday. Bucs need to see how he does against better competition. If he does well then the Bucs found their #2 QB.
August 27th, 2026 at 5:58 am
Licht is an expert at selecting brittle cornerbacks
August 27th, 2026 at 6:07 am
Feel bad for Browning, he has YET to play with a competent line in front of him–he’s a pocket QB, has to have that
August 27th, 2026 at 6:27 am
@buc4evr – “Daniels needs to start on Friday. Bucs need to see how he does against better competition.”
The Jaguars have not played any of their starters in a preseason game yet and according to their official site, few, if any, are expected to play in the final one.
August 27th, 2026 at 6:28 am
You can’t cut Morrison without a competent replacement. Corners don’t grow on trees.
August 27th, 2026 at 6:51 am
“”Play Morrison Friday and if he breaks down yet again, waive him and get a real vet CB after cut downs. Never should have drafted the guy, not durable enough for the NFL.””
He’s on thin ice. He’s one more injury away from being given up on.
August 27th, 2026 at 6:59 am
The world already knows what we have in Browning. Start Daniels and see if his hype is real against opposing starters. As for Morrison, throw him into the grinder and see what comes out the other side.
August 27th, 2026 at 7:28 am
Start Daniels & then Baze in the second half. No way you risk Browning with a backup Oline.
August 27th, 2026 at 8:00 am
There will be some quality experienced CB’s available after teams make final cut, but will Licht go get one?????????????????
Licht and everybody else knows that CNB is the weak position group.
August 27th, 2026 at 8:17 am
Todd Says:
August 27th, 2026 at 8:00 am
There will be some quality experienced CB’s available after teams make final cut, but will Licht go get one?????????????????
Licht and everybody else knows that CNB is the weak position group
————————————————————
Who would they replace? Zyon? Parrish? Morrison? Garner? I doubt if they will pick up any more corners. Those guys have been pretty solid.
August 27th, 2026 at 8:23 am
You should never pass on an opportunity to add quality depth at your weakest position group.
August 27th, 2026 at 8:29 am
Morrison is already a second round bust. Great job Licht. Bowles wanted his God son.
Just more proof we have zero leadership up top. Failing upwards.
Very highly paid troglodytes.
August 27th, 2026 at 8:38 am
Play Morrison if he gets hurt so be it cut his ass and pick one up after cut day
August 27th, 2026 at 8:54 am
Morrison will be out of the league by 2027. And with his history of injuries in collegiate ball, who didn’t see this coming?
Oh, yes, I forgot….
August 27th, 2026 at 9:01 am
Morrison has to play imo….
Start Daniels…
GO BUCS!!!!
August 27th, 2026 at 9:06 am
I don’t know how you don’t play him. I mean he needs the reps badly. If he is not healthy at this point then it appears senseless trying to even think of him as anything than a reserve. As I have said over and over the Bucs need to get a legitimate cb. I am not sure how Bowles and Licht think they can go into a season with McColumn and Morrison. I sure think they will be badly exposed opening day. I just scratch nmy head. I don’t want to be right on this but hard to imagine them not being exposed.
August 27th, 2026 at 9:14 am
Daniels is QB2. He’ll start since every time we’ve seen Jake, hes been bad. Thank God Todd finally figured out Blazlek should never touch a football again wearing a Bucs uniform. I’m interested to see if they’ll give him more than screen plays.
Since the Bucs are thin at CB, keep him off the field and see if he can be ready next month. Let’s see if the LBs can get picks in a game.
August 27th, 2026 at 11:01 am
Seems pretty obvious that Bazelak is a goner.
August 27th, 2026 at 2:09 pm
YOU KNOW IT …
If Morrison takes the field, he’ll have a season ending injury on an off the ball play.
August 27th, 2026 at 2:16 pm
OK as far as Morrison, I’d rather lose him in the preseason game than the 3rd play of week one. If we know he is out we can at least put a healthy player in that spot.
August 27th, 2026 at 2:32 pm
For the record to the A-Holes on this site…
Morrison is not injury prone. He had a congenital hip issue from birth. He got one on hip fixed in college and the other last year. (the Bucs knew this when they drafted him)
He has had one football related injury. A hamstring. The Buc’s #1 injury of choice.
Give the kid a chance to play at 100%. Then if he doesn’t perform at the level he did in college you can call him a bust.
And just to throw it out there… 2 other dvisions had worse records than the NFC South. Look it up!
August 27th, 2026 at 3:45 pm
If being born with a serious physiological malformation or malfunction of the hip does not make someone injury prone, I don’t know what would. That’s why corrective surgery was attempted. The ultimate results are still pending. But they won’t be known without the test of actual games since he is a football player. An ordinary person might live injury-free without even the surgery, but the challenges and stresses of the sport will test the weakness.
August 27th, 2026 at 9:07 pm
The lack of patience with a young player like Morrison, who through no fault of his own has struggled to get on the field, is truly mind boggling. I’m not sure what people get from displaying contempt towards a young kid. I’m not giving up on him being physically 100% and showing that he’s the player they thought he could be. I hope some of you are more patient with your own families.