Minus the guys ruled out on Friday, it’s been a week-long guessing game when it comes to figuring out just who exactly suits up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
Well, as of Saturday, a big piece of the puzzle has been figured out. Per ESPN’s Jenna Laine, starting cornerback Zyon McCollum cleared concussion protocol and will play against the Lions. He was ruled out in the first half of the season-opener against the Washington Commanders after suffering said concussion.
That’s huge news for the Bucs and their secondary, which has been demolished by injuries, already. All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. will miss this game and is likely to miss one or two more before he returns to action and backup cornerback Bryce Hall was placed on IR earlier in the week after suffering a really bad injury in Week 1.
Next up is second-year corner Josh Hayes, who injured his ankle against the Commanders. He, along with Winfield Jr., was one of the guys ruled out on Friday.
Before McCollum was cleared to play, the Bucs were set to start either rookie undrafted free agent Tyrek Funderburk or Keenan Isaac, a guy who had a solid summer/preseason but didn’t do enough to make final cuts back in August.
The Bucs’ starting base secondary will now feature Jamel Dean and McCollum on the outside, with Jordan Whitehead and Christian Izien at safety. If Smith ends up sitting out, then Tavierre Thomas will likely take over at nickel, but Izien could slide inside and Thomas or Kaevon Merriweather would then take over at safety.
Rookie Tykee Smith should play against Lions
Per Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud, rookie nickelback Tykee Smith traveled with the team to Detroit, so he should play on Sunday, too.
That’s a big one, too. Smith is the team’s primary nickelback and is yet another piece that can help slow down Jared Goff and co.
In all, the most important takeaway is the Bucs added two capable bodies that can help them beat the Lions. All things considered, that’s a big win, in itself.