Bucs Place Defensive Starter On Injured Reserve

The Bucs had some tough and unfortunate news on Monday as the team announced that they have placed starting cornerback Zyon McCollum on injured reserve with a hip injury. McCollum injured his hip on Thursday night football against the Falcons and exited the game early. Going on injured reserve requires a player to miss at least four games, so McCollum will be out for the three remaining regular season games and a wild card matchup if they can go that far.

Some other roster moves that Tampa Bay made on the day included singing inside linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. to the active roster, signed defensive tackle C.J. Brewer to the practice squad and released receiver Brandon Johnson from the practice squad.

What Will The Bucs Do At CB?

McCollum was having a down year after signing a big contract extension. Opponents were targeting him in the passing game as he constantly lost matchups to receivers to the other team. He ended up with just one interception on the season with six pass breakups and 65 tackles.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Regardless, anytime a team loses a starting player, it’s a blow to the roster. Tampa Bay will have to replace McCollum with either rookie Benjamin Morrison or veteran Kindle Vildor, although there’s a chance they could move Jacob Parrish from the slot to outside.

Jamel Dean, who has missed two games and almost all of the Buffalo game, has been the the best corner this season. The problem for the defense is they’ve gotten a ton of lackluster play with the other corners. Morrison has had a frustrating as a lingering hamstring injury has kept him in and out with his availability all season long. He’s played in just seven games and allowed big touchdowns in matchups against the Patriots and Bills. Morrison was a game day inactive in the loss to the Falcons.

Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison and Patriots WR Kyle Morrison – Photo by: USA Today

Vildor is a veteran that had an interception earlier in the season against the 49ers. He came in for the injured McCollum and a had a big mistake later in Thursday’s game. It wasn’t so nice of a birthday for Vildor in Tampa Bay’s loss as he didn’t get deep enough or to the yard marker on a fourth and 14 where the Falcons were able to get the first down.

Bucs CB Kindle Vildor – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Its been a difficult showing for the Bucs defense as of late that’s correlated with Tampa Bay losing five of their latest six games. If an injury were to happen to either Morrison or Vildor, the Bucs are razor thin at the position. They have three games to go on the season with two against the Panthers, with the winner of those matchups deciding who takes to the title in the NFC South division. Without a doubt these are playoff caliber games where Tampa Bay has to rely on these other corners to step up in a big role.