Bucs’ Jacob Parrish To Compete For Outside CB Job
After cornerback Jacob Parrish showed off his inside-outside versatility at Kansas State, the Buccaneers added him in the third round of the 2025 draft. The 84th overall pick wound up spending most of his rookie season in the slot, but he could take on new responsibilities in Year 2. Parrish will compete for a starting job on the outside, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com.
The Buccaneers’ secondary has undergone a couple of notable changes this offseason, which could lead to a different role for the 5-foot-10, 198-pound Parrish. They lost starting corner Jamel Dean to the Steelers in free agency and did not pick up any real replacement(s) on the open market. The Dean-less Buccaneers entered the draft with Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison on the outside and Parrish in the slot, but they went on to grab Keionte Scott in the fourth round. Scott logged a large amount of snaps as a nickel corner during a four-year college career divided between Auburn and Miami.
The addition of Scott could lead to more work on the outside for Parrish, who played 127 snaps on the boundary last year and amassed 496 in the slot. During a 17-game, five-start campaign, Parrish finished second among Tampa Bay’s corners in defensive snap share (71.46%), Only McCollum was on the field more than Parrish, who racked up 76 tackles, seven passes defensed, two interceptions and a pair of sacks. He ended the year as Pro Football Focus’ 31st-ranked corner among 112 qualifiers, handily beating out McCollum (51st) and Morrison (108th), and earned a place on the All-Rookie Team.
McCollum, who started in all 30 appearances from 2024-25, inked a three-year, $48MM extension last September. That came several months after the Bucs drafted Parrish and Morrison. They used a second-rounder on Morrison, the 53rd overall choice, but a hip injury limited him to 10 games and three starts. If Morrison has a healthier second season, the club figures to bank on him, Parrish, McCollum and Scott for plenty of snaps.
With their offseason heavy lifting likely done, the Buccaneers will expect their current group of corners to help lead an improved pass defense in 2026. The Bucs were a lowly 27th against the pass last season, which helps explain their 8-9 finish and their failure to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2019.
DB Rumors: Bryant, Bucs, Flott, Pierre
Joining Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe as Seahawks DB regulars less than a day away from free agency, Coby Bryant will be expected to draw extensive interest once the legal tampering period begins Monday. PFR’s No. 28-ranked free agent, Bryant is part of a crowded safety market that could see several starter-level players need to take lesser-value deals. Bryant may come in above that line, and the Seahawks are attempting to keep him off the market. The defending Super Bowl champs — who made a summer effort to extend Bryant last year but had not circled back as of Super Bowl LX — are interested in re-signing the converted corner, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes.
The Seahawks already have Julian Love on a three-year, $33MM deal, and even though the team once employed Love and Quandre Diggs alongside Jamal Adams‘ then-record deal, that came under Pete Carroll. Bryant started 26 games for the Seahawks over the past two seasons. While Ty Okada moving into the lineup alongside Love could serve as a Seattle contingency plan, it appears the team wants to keep Bryant from reaching the market. At 11am CT Monday, the Seahawks will need to compete against other teams for him.
Here is the latest from NFL secondaries.
- After removing a year from Jamel Dean‘s contract — as a pay cut also took place — the Buccaneers are expected to move on from the seven-year veteran, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. Dean was tied to a four-year, $52MM deal entering September but was given a pay cut. The 29-year-old cornerback still excelled, allowing just 49.5% of the passes thrown his way to be completed and earning a fifth-place CB ranking from Pro Football Focus. As discussed in the Buccaneers’ Offseason Outlook, this will sever ties with Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl-era CB corps. The team will have Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish positioned to start on the outside in 2026, Stroud adds.
- The Giants were believed to have been the runners-up for Trent McDuffie, pointing to heavy cornerback interest. This effort may have been overblown, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets, expressing some doubt about the team’s interest in paying top dollar for a cornerback. No free agent on this year’s market will draw that kind of offer, but Duggan notes Cor’Dale Flott is expected to land somewhere from $8-$14MM per year. PFR’s No. 42 free agent, Flott started 37 games as a Giant. John Harbaugh identified the former third-round pick as a player the team would like to keep. With Paulson Adebo on an $18MM-per-year contract, how much will Big Blue be willing to spend to ensure he stays?
- James Pierre delivered a surprising season, based on his past as a part-time starter in Pittsburgh. PFF ranked Pierre second among corners last year, though he only logged 408 snaps. A six-year Steeler who has only started 13 career games, Pierre played well in spot duty (five starts) last season. As a result, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson hears eight or nine teams have shown preliminary interest. This would be a nice development for Pierre, a former UDFA who played on a veteran-minimum deal in 2025. Pierre’s market will be hindered, to a degree, by his age. The Lamar Jackson cousin turns 30 this offseason.
- The Bills‘ recent Sam Franklin re-signing is for $7MM over three years, according to OverTheCap. The veteran special-teamer will see $2.53MM guaranteed.
Bucs’ Jacob Parrish Could Start At Nickel
Buccaneers cornerback Jacob Parrish took first-team reps in the slot during spring practices, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, giving the third-round pick a chance at a starting role as a rookie.
Parrish played the vast majority of his college snaps at Kansas State on the boundary, but his 5-foot-10 height led some draft experts to predict a move to the slot in the pros. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles pushed back on those projections during rookie minicamp, saying (via Auman) that Parrish is “an outside corner first and then a nickel second.”
But as the team’s secondary has taken shape this spring, Parrish has emerged as a potential starting nickelback. Tampa Bay largely used safeties in the slot last season, led by 2024 third-rounder Tykee Smith with 2023 UDFA Christian Izien and veteran Jordan Whitehead in rotational roles. Smith is expected to play a more traditional safety role this season, and the Buccaneers allowed Whitehead to hit free agency in March.
That leaves Izien as the primary candidate to compete with Parrish to start in the slot, a job he won out of training camp as an undrafted rookie in 2023. Izien played a more versatile role last year, but struggled in his 205 snaps at nickel, allowing 1.75 yards per coverage snap, the fourth-highest among all defenders with at least 100 snaps in the slot, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
The Buccaneers are returning both of their starting outside cornerbacks from last season, so Parrish will not be needed on the boundary (barring an injury). With the slot open, Tampa Bay could get him on the field as a rookie and keep Izien as a multi-positional backup at safety and nickel.
Buccaneers Sign First-Round WR Emeka Egbuka, Four Other Draftees
Five of the Buccaneers’ six draft picks are under contract. First-round wideout Emeka Egbuka is among the rookies who have signed their initial NFL pacts, per a team announcement. 
Egbuka’s four-year contract is worth a total of $18.1MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes. That figure is fully guaranteed, per standard operating procedure for Day 1 selections. Egbuka can be kept under team control through 2029 provided Tampa Bay exercises his fifth-year option.
The Ohio State product was surrounded by recent first-rounders (and wideouts who will no doubt be selected early in future drafts) throughout his four-year career. In spite of that, Egbuka’s 205 receptions are the most in school history and his 2,868 yards rank second. His route-running and other fundamentals made him one of the safest WR prospects in the 2025 class.
Given the Bucs’ needs at other positions, though, some eyebrows were raised when they selected Egbuka 19th overall. Tampa Bay’s effective tandem of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin is still intact, and 2024 third-rounder Jalen McMillan scored eight touchdowns as a rookie. Nevertheless, Egbuka is in position to compete for a rotational role early in his career with the potential to replace Godwin as a mainstay in the slot down the road.
Had the Buccaneers looked to move down the board, Egbuka would not have been available to them. The three-time All-Big Ten performer was the subject of trade interest from teams like the Texans and Rams, with the Broncos also eyeing him at pick No. 20. Given that level of interest, Egbuka will be expected to provide Tampa Bay with consistent production early and often in his pro career.
The Bucs have also signed cornerback Jacob Parrish (third round, Kansas State), edge rusher David Walker (fourth round, Central Arkansas), defensive lineman Elijah Roberts (fifth round, SMU) and receiver Tez Johnson (seventh round, Oregon) to their rookie deals. As a result, only second-round corner Benjamin Morrison has yet to ink his first NFL pact.