Buccaneers: Ali Marpet returns while Brent Grimes remains sidelined
The Buccaneers have welcomed Ali Marpet back to practice, while Brent Grimes remains sidelined with an injury.
We are midway through the week and heading towards the Buccaneers week two preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. With that, the Bucs are holding joint practices with the Jags this week. It gives the team the unique opportunity to get their reps in while getting different looks. Instead of both sides knowing what is coming, neither side does, like a game. They can get their reps in and practice making adjustments on the fly.
Unfortunately, the new week does not mean the return of the old veteran. At least not yet. According to CBS Sports (via Jenna Laine), cornerback Brent Grimes went to Jacksonville with the team but he is still sidelined indefinitely. He sustained a laceration to his leg after getting tied up with Bucs wide receivers last week during practice. He remains out of action while his stitched up leg continues to heal.
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For Grimes, it’s OK if the timeline is a little bit loose. He has been in the league for 11 years. The defense is the same as it was last year in terms of scheme. Mike Smith is still in town so there are no new plays to learn.
For a player like that, the preseason is a tune up. He doesn’t necessarily need games in order to be ready for the regular season. If they can get Grimes off of the sideline and practicing that should be good enough to prepare him for week one. For a young player it may be a different story, but not for a veteran.
As long as Brent Grimes gets back to work prior to week one he will be just fine.
For Ali Marpet it’s a different story. He is not only a young player, he is a young player that is changing positions. Moving to center is a big deal because he is responsible for the line calls. Not only is the position different in and of itself, he’s the quarterback of the line. He needs to be in there getting his reps. Having Joe Hawley and Evan Smith is nice, but they need the player they intend on starting.
With that, it is great news to find out that Marpet has returned and is practicing with his teammates this week. That likely means he will get reps in this weekend’s game, but even having him back to practice with helps. Head coach Dirk Koetter was thrilled (per team website):
"“Yeah, we got Ali back, got Evan Smith back out there today, George Johnson was back today. Ali definitely firms up the middle for us. We had some identification errors in the run period but it wasn’t the centers’ fault. Getting Ali back – if it was a [regular-season] game, he would have been good to go in Cincinnati but it’s good to get him back. It’s good to get all those guys back.”"
A team looking to make a playoff run needs the offensive line playing well. Logically, that means they need to have a healthy group of players working well together. Getting Ali Marpet back is huge.
Next: Martin vs. Rodgers, who wins?
The Bucs are looking to build a winner and it starts right here in camp. First and foremost, they need to be healthy.