Buccaneers' Jason Licht Speaks on Second-Year Player's Potential Position Change

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't sign a new outside cornerback in the draft or in free agency. There's an argument, though, that they still added to that room during the offseason — they just did it from in-house.

The Buccaneers had some questions about their outside cornerback depth heading into the NFL Draft after former CB Jamel Dean departed in free agency for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Zyon McCollum are both set to start there, and both had an up-and-down year last year in 2025.

The Bucs did draft a cornerback in Keionte Scott, but he isn't set to play outside. He's expected to slot into the nickel position, but by doing that, he's freed up another player who could end up competing for reps on the outside with McCollum and Morrison.

General manager Jason Licht recently spoke with Ira Kaufman of JoeBucsFan, and he confirmed that the Bucs have been talking about one move that many have been speculating on since the draft ended in April.

Jacob Parrish Could Play Outside in 2026

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jacob Parrish (25) during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Licht confirmed that he and head coach Todd Bowles have discussed moving defensive back Jacob Parrish, who played nickel corner for the Bucs during his rookie season, to the outside in 2026 to compete with Morrison and McCollum.

"Todd has talked to me a lot about that. We’ll see how things shake out in camp, but that’s in play," Licht said. "It’s a great problem to have. We’re very happy with his rookie season."

Parrish had an impressive rookie season in Tampa Bay at the nickel spot, nabbing two interceptions, seven pass defenses and 50 solo tackles. Scott is set to take his job there in 2026, but Parrish's strong rookie season will likely put him in strong consideration to change his position and get some snaps on the outside this upcoming season.

With Morrison and McCollum already in the room, it's possible that Bowles could rotate Parrish in on the outside — additionally, he could use some DB-heavy packages to get as many of them on the field as possible. Either way, the Bucs clearly liked what they saw from Parrish during his rookie season, and they're unlikely to let him stay on the sideline in 2026.

Morrison has already impressed at OTAs and McCollum has been playing at a few different spots on defense in camp this offseason, so it will be interesting to see what the Bucs do with Parrish in that group. The last week of OTAs begins on Tuesday, and after that, the Bucs will begin mandatory minicamp on June 16.

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