Todd Bowles: Benjamin Morrison Is First Backup Outside Cornerback
September 2nd, 2026
While the Bucs have settled on an undrafted rookie to be their No. 2 quarterback, they won’t go that route at cornerback.
That was the message today from Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.
Bowles was asked who would fill in at nickel cornerback if rookie Keionte Scott couldn’t play. Bowles said it could be Zyon McCollum moving in at outside cornerback or, “it could be [Jacob] Parrish back inside with Morrison outside, depends on the matchup and what we see.”
The head coach continued: “Right now, I would venture to say it would be Parrish going inside and Morrison going outside.”
Bowles also declared Morrison “healthy.”
Freshly re-signed cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting was back at practice today. Obviously, Bowles needs to see what he looks like after three years away from Tampa Bay (Titans and Cardinals), but Bowles noted how Murphy-Bunting can play nickel, and outside and at safety.
September 2nd, 2026 at 12:31 pm
*Quarterback. My heart skipped a beat until I realized it was a typo. All good.
September 2nd, 2026 at 12:32 pm
Desperate
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:05 pm
Sean Murphy Bunting had a ācatastrophic ā knee injury.
Complete ACL tear. Partial MCL tear.
He hasnāt played in 18 months.
Has yet to take that rebuilt knee for a spin during a game.
Seems optimistic to expect much from him this season.
Or Meybe ever.
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:15 pm
“He hasnāt played in 18 months.
Has yet to take that rebuilt knee for a spin during a game”
You’ve posted this in 2 separate threads and it still isn’t true because he played 22 snaps in this years’ preseason and was a full participant all throughout camp in Arizona. SMB was literally was a full participant in practice….today, lol
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:17 pm
Morrison is a 4th corner
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:19 pm
lets hope Scott will not miss week1…
Morrison defending Higgins or Chase week1 could crush his confidence for the rest of the season
GO BUCS!!!!
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:20 pm
Kevin Knowles is a solid Nickel back
And he’s also a good special teams player
Jason Licht is making good moves with this roster
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:21 pm
Thx for saving my thumbs WBL
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:25 pm
Interesting thing about Morrison.
We want him to be healthy so he can play.
When he played last year, he got torched.
It may be a make-it year for the young man.
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:29 pm
How many games will Band-Aid Benny play in? Like 4?
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:33 pm
I’ve been complaining about this CB unit all off-season and even then I was still hopeful our GM had a better plan in place…
I would like to see our “ROH” GM retire after this season along with his buddy Toad.
PATHETIC!
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:40 pm
Licht keeps,drafting dooids,always injured d in college.
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:42 pm
@Marine
You’re trying way too hard man, ease up off the gas you don’t need to do 40mph in a parking lot
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:44 pm
Predicting Benjamin Morris gets beat for a touchdown early on a close play, then comes back and gets a pick and breaks up a pass that leads to another pick. Bengals have not been a good team since Burrow’s rookie year, and Burrow’s can be rattled.
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:45 pm
whatās the over under on the bucs pass defense this year? 32 teams bucs will rank #20?!
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:47 pm
i can never remember the bucs having such bad corners, watching the ganges last year- 21 and zyon got roasted like old grandmas by everyoneā¦ that means other teams can score so we lose
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:47 pm
@ warrin
I hear ya bud – but “I’m a race car, right, and you got me in the red”
I’m not happy about his situation and you know it…
I’m not going to keep on about it but this is absolutely GM malpractice and it is 100% our GM’s fault.
I’m going to start calling Jason Licht – Paw…
Cause he is – Paw-thetic!
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:52 pm
“Warren Brooks Lynch Says:
March 20th, 2026 at 9:29 am
Itās going to be a mistake if thereās no competition for either starting CB spot this offseason. Parrishsā role at nickel back is the only one that should be safe, but we need to go out and get some talent that can come in to compete with Morrison at least and if they can push McCollum, then so be it.
Thatās the one position I think weāre ignoring in terms of draft priority and this ā26 class has a good collection of talent at CB. With the loss of Dean, itāll be interesting to see if we go after CBs of similar stature/athletic profile as Dean.”
@Marine
You’re let to the party, pal.
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:52 pm
“Warren Brooks Lynch Says:
March 20th, 2026 at 9:29 am
Itās going to be a mistake if thereās no competition for either starting CB spot this offseason. Parrishsā role at nickel back is the only one that should be safe, but we need to go out and get some talent that can come in to compete with Morrison at least and if they can push McCollum, then so be it.
Thatās the one position I think weāre ignoring in terms of draft priority and this ā26 class has a good collection of talent at CB. With the loss of Dean, itāll be interesting to see if we go after CBs of similar stature/athletic profile as Dean.”
@Marine
You’re let to the party, pal.
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:03 pm
ahhh, numbnuts marinebuc again with diarrhea of the brain and mouth …. trolling is your specialty
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:05 pm
IMHO signing SMB was not pathetic. It seems to be reasonable, if not solid, move to bolster CB depth. Time will tell.
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:09 pm
“IMHO signing SMB was not pathetic. It seems to be reasonable, if not solid, move to bolster CB depth. Time will tell.”
Easily the smartest signing we could make given our circumstance and what was available on the open market.
Vet, check.
Depth player, check.
Versatile, check.
Already knowing the scheme and not needing as much time as someone new to the scheme to learn it, that’s a bonus.
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:09 pm
“IMHO signing SMB was not pathetic. It seems to be reasonable, if not solid, move to bolster CB depth. Time will tell.”
Easily the smartest signing we could make given our circumstance and what was available on the open market.
Vet, check.
Depth player, check.
Versatile, check.
Already knowing the scheme and not needing as much time as someone new to the scheme to learn it, that’s a bonus.
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:24 pm
@ warrin
I’m ok with signing SMB – but that was our big off-season move to provide solid vet depth to this CB unit?
An Arizona Card cast-off?
Who they paid $2M to go away?
Who is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL?
Who was always injured when he was young and healthy?
This is your MASTER plan?
Again – Jason Licht should be ashamed of himself.
GM malpractice all the way folks.
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:32 pm
“Iām ok with signing SMB ā but that was our big off-season move to provide solid vet depth to this CB unit?”
Lmao all moves don’t have to be “big” to matter or be significant. IF you can tell me at least 2 DBs on that Cardinals roster with neither of them being Buddha Baker I’ll mail you a cookie, but the average buc fan is barely tapped into what we have as a team. So I’m almost certain anybody directly saying or inferring “the cardinals didn’t want him” don’t know wtf the Cardinals got going on with their roster.
All the other wording is just you being hyper-exaggerative and I’d love to be the one to tell you that you sound like a “let me speak to your manager” grade-2 Karen right now. We get it, you don’t like Jason but you’ve been turning up the volume on being a 1-trick poster.
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:43 pm
Every picture I see of Morrison he looks like a deer in headlights. He doesn’t belong in the pros.
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:45 pm
@WBL – full participant? who cares if you suck…geez…remind me of JBB getting a washed Perry last year…who cares…not playing in 18 months in an actual game is a big deal. sorry
September 2nd, 2026 at 3:23 pm
Garnes should be ahead of Morrison
September 2nd, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Bowles says Morrison is fully healthy. So he’s a second round backup. Baby steps Tiny Tim, baby steps.
September 2nd, 2026 at 3:26 pm
Happy to hear B-Mo is healthy again. Hopefully he can stay available. He has the talent to be a very good corner.
Corners will sink or swim based on the effectiveness of the pass rush.
Todd will make sure QBs don’t have all day to look for open recievers and that will do more to help our corners than anything else could.
September 2nd, 2026 at 4:44 pm
One word….Bowles….Here we go again.
September 2nd, 2026 at 4:48 pm
Joe … ‘Bowles noted how Murphy-Bunting can play nickel, and outside and at safety.’
Todd LOVES versatility, and SMB (if healthy) brings a lot of that. Plus a lot of experience. So that’s a potentially great signing for us, but it obviously depends on SMB being 100% after his knee injury. Only one way to find out … throw him in the fire.
I’m thinking the same thing about Morrison AND Knowles. Benjamin hasn’t really had much ‘hands-on training’ since last year ended, but if he’s all healed up then throw him in the fire too.
Kevin Knowles intrigues me for some reason. He was an undrafted rookie (2025) with unspectacular credentials (well, except that he played for FSU); not gigantically tall (5’11”, not real beefy (190 lbs), nor especially fast (supposedly 4.45 secs in the 40). BUT … the Bucs gave him an immediate roster spot (hmmm) and supposedly he’s quite good at Special Teams. Sounds like Josh Hayes (now on IR) may be on thin ice.
September 2nd, 2026 at 4:49 pm
Let’s let BenMo play some this season before we bury him.
September 2nd, 2026 at 4:59 pm
ā80sBucsfan Says:
September 2nd, 2026 at 2:45 pm
@WBL ā full participant?ā
That means SMB has already been involved in football activities, sir. Yāall do know that these guys canāt go from roster to roster to playing field without passing a physical exam, right?
September 2nd, 2026 at 6:03 pm
This season is doomed. Only way they succeed is if they stay healthy. Now, how is that possible when half the roster is soft and always hurt or hurt already with no contact. 5-12
September 2nd, 2026 at 6:15 pm
@Marine Buc
I actually like our CB room. I think that our starting CB’s are going to shut down Chase and Higgins to the tune of less that 12 receptions and 100 yards between them.
I have Chase on my fantasy team and am considering swapping him out for THurst.
September 2nd, 2026 at 6:36 pm
MarineBuc is all talk and completely clueless.
I offered a 1 k bet for Bucs to win more than hes predicting.
And poor, he puts on his camouflage and disappears.
Out up or shut up dummy.
You know NOTHING about football.. it’s clearly obvious.
September 2nd, 2026 at 6:55 pm
DR ā The pro-day and projected data on Knowles put him in the āathletic freakā category that Licht so loves. High jump of 41ā and broad of 10ā 6ā. The short shuttle, the 3-cone and the 10-yard times look average while his speed is mediocre for the position.
Expect him to be a good gunner but only an emergency position player.
September 2nd, 2026 at 7:59 pm
ATLBuc: Even if the Bucs DC canāt contain Kirk Cousins, Iām sure heāll do a great job stopping Joe Burrow. ššššš
September 2nd, 2026 at 8:21 pm
Lou … ‘Expect him to be a good gunner but only an emergency position player.’
He just has to beat out Josh Hayes.
September 2nd, 2026 at 9:52 pm
“He just has to beat out Josh Hayes.” At least you don’t have to lower the bar for the guy.
Secondary has not been improved one iota from the complete disaster of ’25. ILB room is only marginally improved and god forbid Anzalone gets hurt. Depending on a rookie with coverage skills in question doesn’t make anyone feel warm and fuzzy either. Beyond that ILBs are barely jags. At least the front 7 has obvious and hopefully stable upgrades. Defense should improve with that alone. However, once the ball gets past the LOS, it’s a crap shoot. JL’s overconfidence lets us down again. We have to depend on the unknown capability of Zac R. to lead the offense back to acceptability. We’ve got a puncher’s chance of being a respectable team this year if all goes well despite some obvious shortcomings. It’s just a little disappointing because it could be so much better with a competent staff. Go Bucs!!!
September 2nd, 2026 at 10:30 pm
Lichtās āresign my picks statsā have taken a severe hit the last couple years. If Morrison is dropped down further on the backup list, then heās closer to another ding.
September 2nd, 2026 at 11:06 pm
Some of you actually think Benjamin Morrison made this roster because his dad once stood within Gatoradeāsplash distance of Bowles, which is the kind of football analysis you get when someoneās brain is running on airplane mode. Morrison didnāt get a Thorpe semifinalist nod because his āsemiāfamousā dad (a career JAG whose biggest achievement was being present) asked nicely; the committee didnāt toss him in with Cooper DeJean, KoolāAid McKinstry, Malachi Starks, Travis Hunter out of pity. He started at Notre Dame as a true freshman ā three years at a program that vaporizes DBs who canāt play ā but sure, Daddy carried him like a toddler at Disneyland. He only fell in the draft because of the hip injury; healthy Morrison is a 2024 Thorpe finalist and the Bucs donāt even sniff him unless they start pawning off roster and draft assets. But some folks see two matching last names and their critical thinking packs up and leaves the stadium. If Josiah Trotter showed up limping, not one of you would be screaming āDaddy privilege,ā because the nepotism siren only blares when Bowlesā godson is involved. If Morrison balls out later, I fully expect the same crowd to claim his recovery was nepotism too. Even on his worst day heās already above the Jonathan Banks / MJ Stewart tier ā and he didnāt need Daddy to hold his hand to get there.