The 2026 offseason is crucial for Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Benjamin Morrison after a disappointing rookie year. Especially when considering he missed a month of training camp and all three preseason games due to injury.

“He’s an amazing player, man. I have the most respect for him,” Buccaneers CB Jacob Parrish told reporters. “He was hurt last offseason. He didn’t get to do OTAs and training camp, so it was pretty rough for them to go out there. But I’m excited for him this year.”

That’s why it’s disappointing to hear Morrison missed the first day of mandatory minicamp with a leg injury. Last year’s letdown centered around a quadricep and hamstring injury that cost him seven total games, which is why it’s frustrating to hear he’s missing time because of yet another leg injury.

Todd Bowles told reporters during the final day of OTAs that Morrison was “nicked up,” but head coaches have no obligation to elaborate on injuries during the offseason. So all we know is that Morrison is dealing with a leg issue serious enough to keep him off the field during an important part of the offseason.

The timing makes this especially frustrating. Morrison actually looked sharp at the beginning of OTAs. He picked off Baker Mayfield and was making plays in coverage. It felt like the foundation was being laid for a productive offseason and a bounce-back 2026 campaign. Instead, he’s found himself in the same spot he was in last year, and that’s a tough pill to swallow.

Why this matters for Tampa Bay’s defense

The Buccaneers are clearly counting on Morrison to play a significant role in their secondary. Cornerback Jacob Parrish said last week at OTAs that whenever Tampa Bay goes to nickel, he moves inside. Parrish starts on the outside in base packages and then slides to the slot in nickel formations.

“Base downs, I’ve been going on [the] outside, and then when we go nickel, I’ve been going to nickel, so it’s been like 50/50 I want to say,” said Parrish. “I’m excited for the opportunity, you know, being able to play nickel and corner. You know, a lot of people can’t do that, so I just want to go out there and prove that I can try to play at a high level.”

That distinction matters because the Buccaneers are a nickel team. They deploy nickel at a far higher rate than their base defense. So by default, the Bucs need Morrison to man one of those outside cornerback spots when Parrish kicks inside. If Morrison isn’t available, that obviously changes things.

However, the Buccaneers aren’t up the creek without a paddle, by any means.

Buccaneers have a viable, if unideal, backup plan in Keionte Scott

The Buccaneers drafted Scott in the fourth round of this year’s draft, giving them a contingency option. If Morrison’s injury problems continue to linger, Parrish can stay on the outside and Scott can slide into the nickel role.

However, Scott is coming off wrist surgery himself and he’s a rookie, so relying on him as a primary Plan B is far from ideal. Tampa Bay would much rather have its intended alignment of Parrish on the inside and Morrison on the outside in nickel packages. That gives the defense the most flexibility and the best combination of experience and talent on the boundary.

The bigger picture on Benjamin Morrison’s health

Last year’s injuries were unfortunate, but they were at least understandable. Morrison had hip surgery that ended his final season at Notre Dame early, so there was always a chance his body would need time to adjust to the NFL grind.

The aforementioned injuries not only stole snaps, they also affected Morrison’s play when he was on the field, as he gave up big touchdowns against both the Bills and the Patriots.

This year was supposed to be different. Morrison entered OTAs healthy, looked good early, and appeared ready to establish himself. The fact that he’s already dealing with another leg issue before minicamp even starts raises legitimate questions about his durability going forward.

What comes next

The next few days will tell us a lot. If Morrison returns to the practice field on Wednesday or Thursday, then this is likely a minor setback and nothing more.

If we don’t see him, though, his status won’t become clear until training camp. That’s a long wait for a team banking on him to anchor one side of its secondary. The Buccaneers have options if Morrison can’t stay healthy, but none of them are as clean as having their second-year corner take the leap everyone wants to see this offseason.