The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost some key pieces this offseason in free agency. Among them was starting cornerback Jamel Dean, who signed a three-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It never really felt like Dean was going to come back after a bit of a rollercoaster ride with Tampa Bay. However, his time there ended on a high, as he performed at a high level going into a contract year.

Naturally, the question now is what’s next? And that should be 2025 second round pick Benjamin Morrison. The former Notre Dame product appeared in 10 games last season with three starts, and it wasn’t exactly a memorable season for him. After missing the preseason with a nagging hamstring injury, he missed the opener with a quad injury. The hamstring issue popped up again later in the season and kept him out for two separate stretches.

On the field, he had some rookie growing pains, as Pro Football Focus credits him with long touchdowns allowed in losses to New England and Buffalo. He also was targeted 10 times and allowed seven catches for 76 yards in the loss at Carolina, per PFF. His 50.0 season PFF coverage grade was the lowest among all Tampa Bay defensive backs.

With Morrison slated to step into a greater role in 2026, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell preached caution and competition around him going into next season. Barnwell put out a list of the biggest remaining issue for 20 NFL contenders, and he tabbed cornerback for the Bucs, mentioning Morrison by name.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell calls out the Bucs CB room, specifically Benjamin Morrison, as the biggest remaining issue going into 2026

“The Bucs have Zyon McCollum locked in at one starting cornerback role, and Jacob Parrish was solid in his rookie year operating out of the slot,” Barnwell wrote. “Dean’s departure, though, will elevate 2025 second-round pick Benjamin Morrison to the starting lineup. And while plenty of cornerbacks have rough rookie seasons before maturing in subsequent years, Morrison had a very rough debut campaign. He allowed a 112.2 passer rating in coverage on 359 snaps, including a 72-yard touchdown to Patriots wideout Kyle Williams. Morrison also had two pass interference penalties and a holding call declined. The Panthers repeatedly went after the rookie in their home-and-home with Tampa Bay down the stretch, and I’d expect more of that if Morrison’s in the starting lineup.

“The solution: Add a cornerback in the draft. The Bucs are going to give Morrison a shot at a full-time job in 2026, which makes sense given that they invested a second-round pick to add the Notre Dame product last season. Given how he played as a rookie, I’d hope that the Bucs add at least one cornerback to compete with Morrison.

“GM Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles have typically trusted their ability to draft and develop defensive backs. With Dean leaving, using a relatively early pick on another corner to either test Morrison or serve as a fourth cornerback would be wise. As a relatively deep team, though, the Bucs lack for star power more than they have glaring weaknesses.”

First, I would disagree that the Bucs’ biggest remaining issue is cornerback. While I listed the CB position as one of the most in need of being addressed recently, the edge rusher room is still not nearly good enough, even with the savvy signing of former Detroit EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad.

That being said, I think the Bucs have little choice but to invest a relatively premium pick at the cornerback position. Depth issues have reared its ugly head at times over the last few seasons, and the quality down the roster proved to be lacking. At minimum, they need a better third or fourth boundary corner. At best, perhaps they find someone to push to start over Morrison — or otherwise help drive him to become a better version of himself in 2026 and beyond.

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