The biggest question nobody is asking about Buccaneers (and how they answer it)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have completely revamped their defense heading into 2026. That includes their secondary.

The Bucs let mainstay cornerback Jamel Dean walk in free agency to head to the Pittsburgh Steelers, As a result, the Bucs are set to have CBs Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish take care of duties in the outside cornerback room — or are they?

The team drafted a nickel cornerback in the fourth round when it selected Keionte Scott out of Miami, and that displaced the previous nickel corner, Jacob Parrish.

The good news is that Parrish has been bumped to the outside cornerbacks room with Morrison and McCollum to add some depth to the room. He's expected to push both of those players, who each have some individual concerns, with the potential to win a starting job over one of them when the season comes around.

But here's a question that not many people are asking: What happens if he doesn't win one of those jobs?

What if Jacob Parrish Doesn't Win an Outside Cornerback Job?

Simply put, Parrish was too good last year to leave on the sideline this year.

In his debut season with Tampa Bay, Parrish netted two interceptions and defended seven passes. He allowed a passer rating of 89.9 and also racked up seven tackles for loss and two sacks, proving he can be valuable as a blitzer and in the run game as well.

Now, though, he's playing outside, and Keionte Scott will have to play nickel. He goes to the outside cornerbacks room to push McCollum and Morrison. Both could end up showing out in training camp, though, and if that is the case, Parrish would have moved to the outside room and have nowhere to go if he's unable to play nickel and can't start outside.

So, in the event that Morrison and McCollum win the starting jobs, what do the Buccaneers then do with Parrish? It would probably be what they did with Morrison last year.

Bucs Would Rotate Parrish Into the Lineup

The Buccaneers rotated Morrison in with Dean last year, and if Parrish doesn't break through to the starting lineup this season, expect the same.

Morrison and McCollum have both faced injury issues in the past, so it might be beneficial for the Bucs to spell them when needed. Parrish could also be a boon on run-heavy downs with his nickel acumen, so head coach Todd Bowles could explore that, too.

The Bucs could also look to introduce more dime sets where Parrish could be on the field alongside McCollum and Morrison. All of these solutions would still not feature him in a starting role, but they would ensure he gets the snaps that he earned from his play last year.

Then again, he could simply win a starting job outright. The road to doing that starts on July 28, when he and the rest of Tampa Bay report to training camp.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/buccaneers/onsi as The Biggest Question Nobody Is Asking About Buccaneers (And How They Answer It).