Amid a rash of injuries in their secondary, the Buccaneers worked out veteran cornerbacks Arthur Maulet and Duke Shelley on Friday, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.
Jamel Dean, Benjamin Morrison, and Christian Izien were all ruled out for Sunday’s matchup with the Seahawks, leaving Tampa Bay without their No. 1 and No. 3 outside cornerbacks as well as key slot and special teams depth in Izien.
Working out Maulet and Shelley would appear to be a response to Izien’s quad injury more than anything else. Maulet and Shelley have extensive experience at nickel, where Izien has played majority of his career snaps, and they both could fill his role on special teams as well.
Maulet, a former UDFA out of Memphis, has spent two seasons each with the Jets, Steelers, and Ravens over the last six years. He was coming off a solid debut season in Baltimore when a knee injury in training camp sidelined him for most of the 2024 season. The Ravens released him as a cap casualty this offseason and he relocated to Houston, but could not make their regular-season roster.
Shelley is a six-year veteran with only 11 starts to his name. He only played 14 snaps in his sole appearance for the Giants in 2024 and only played 86 defensive snaps for the Rams the year before that. Shelley signed with the Colts before training camp but was released during final roster cuts.
A Friday workout, of course, is too late to add depth for Sunday’s game, but the Buccaneers’ coaching staff was able to evaluate the two veteran corners to help inform their decisions coming out of Week 5.
Buccaneers should bring back Shilo Sanders and convert a safety to DB