Todd Bowles and Jason Licht confirm suspicion about draft need during NFL owners' meetings
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in dire straits at times in 2024 at the cornerback position. The injury bug struck the position early in the season, with key reserve Bryce Hall suffering a season-ending ankle injury in the opener against Washington. By the end of the season, the Bucs had turned to players like Josh […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in dire straits at times in 2024 at the cornerback position. The injury bug struck the position early in the season, with key reserve Bryce Hall suffering a season-ending ankle injury in the opener against Washington. By the end of the season, the Bucs had turned to players like Josh Hayes and Tyrek Funderburke to handle key minutes, which proved problematic.
Now, the apparent need at the group has indeed not been lost on general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles, who both met with the media this week at the NFL owners' meetings in Palm Beach.
Bowles was asked about the depth at the position after the signings from March, and he didn't mince words about his feelings.
"We don't have a lot of depth. That's crystal clear. We don't have a lot of depth. We hope to address that at some point in the draft as well, obviously, and we didn't sign many in free agency. We signed (Kindle) Vildor. We signed back Bryce (Hall). He's coming off an injury. We've got to see what Vildor can do, obviously, but we're going to address that in the draft."
Licht also noted that, while they're in a better spot than last year – perhaps because of the retention of Hall and signing of Vildor – they're still looking to get better from top to bottom.
"I think we've made improvements and we're in a better place than we were last year," Licht said about the cornerback spot.
"It's a pretty good draft there, throughout the entire draft," Licht added about the cornerback position. "We'll see how it falls to us, but we could use some help there, whether it's depth – whatever it is, we could use some help there."
The Bucs indeed appear to be a touch better than they were last year, with Vildor and Hall – provided he's ready to go – providing a pair of seemingly capable and experienced veterans to fall back on.
However, that still doesn't sound like it's enough to make Bowles nearly happy enough. Given his direct comments regarding the lack of depth at the position, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Bucs pull the trigger in either of the first two days to address the position, including perhaps on Thursday if someone like Michigan's Will Johnson starts to fall towards them.
In any event, it seems like a given you'll hear at least one cornerback, if not more, hear his name called when the Buccaneers are on the clock next month in Green Bay, host of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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