Explaining what the Buccaneers secondary will look like against the Lions if the injuries don't get better
It's only Week 2 and yet, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary is on track to be without two starters and multiple depth players on Sunday when the team takes on the Detroit Lions for the third time in less than a calendar year.For certain, All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield and top backup cornerback Bryce Hall will […]
It's only Week 2 and yet, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary is on track to be without two starters and multiple depth players on Sunday when the team takes on the Detroit Lions for the third time in less than a calendar year.
For certain, All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield and top backup cornerback Bryce Hall will miss this week's game. Winfield is expected to miss around 2-4 weeks, while Hall is likely done for the year. It doesn't really seem like second-year cornerback Josh Hayes will play, either, but he's not a full certainty like the other two.
Next up is starting cornerback Zyon McCollum, who was ruled out in the first half of the season-opener with a concussion. He was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, but the current path he's trending doesn't sound very promising based off what Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said when spoke with the media after practice.
“He only did a little bit today. We’ll see how he comes along," said Bowles. "… I’ve got to see a lot more towards the end of the week.”
The Bucs had to sign Keenan Isaac on Tuesday for a reason: they simply don't have enough bodies at the cornerback position. Especially since Christian Izien, a second-year player that usually plays nickel and played outside in Week 1, is moving to safety in response to Winfield Jr.'s injury.
So, with all that being said, this is what the Bucs secondary will look like on Sunday if none of the aforementioned guys are able to play:
Starting corners
- Jamel Dean and Tyreek Funderburk
- Backups: Keenan Isaac
- Tykee Smith would be the team's primary nickel back, with Tavierre Thomas and Izien filling in if/when needed
Starting safeties
- Jordan Whitehead and Christian Izien
- Backups: Kaevon Merriweather and Thomas. Smith can fill in at safety if/when needed.
Yea, it's bare bones at both positions. If either Whitehead or Dean go down then the secondary is in more trouble than it potentially already is. The good news is all of the players available to play on Sunday know the Bowles' system – it's not like they brought in someone who has zero experience in Tampa.
"You can’t have any more hits at that position," said Bowles. "Keenan knows the system, he’s played in it all summer. He had a decent [training] camp and summer, so I feel comfortable with him going in there having to play, if he has to play.”
A healthier defensive line would really help the ailing secondary
The secondary isn't the only area on defense having issues with injuries. Two of the Bucs' three starters on the defensive line are currently nursing injuries, one depth player was placed on IR before last week's game, and 11-year veteran Will Gholston popped up on Wednesday's injury report with an elbow issue. He was a limited participant which is encouraging, but at the same time, it's yet another injury the Bucs have to monitor.
It's up-in-the-air when it comes to both Logan Hall's and Calijah Kancey's availability for the Lions game. Even more so for Kancey, who was a non-participant on Wednesday as he deals with another calf injury. At least Hall was able to get a limited session in, but he was lumped in with Bowles' "I’ve got to see a lot more towards the end of the week" comment, so it's still a long road for him, too.
It'll be interesting to see who the Bucs call up, this week. Last week was pretty obvious due to the injuries on the defensive line, but if those injuries, along with the secondary's, don't get better then it's likely the Bucs call up one of the defensive linemen in C.J. Brewer or Mike Greene and then one of the safeties in Marcus Banks or Rashad Wisdom.
The latter part makes sense so, that way, if there's an injury to Dean, Funderburk, or Isaac then Izien could play outside in an emergency like he did last week.
In all: It's going to be very interesting to see this all plays out on Sunday. Especially when considering the opponent the Bucs are facing in the Lions.
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2023 season came to a screeching halt in Motown thanks to a 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. So, it's easy to see why the upcoming Week 2 matchup is highly anticipated amongst those donning the pewter and red. “Any time you finish the […]
