Buccaneers won’t miss unexpected veteran roster cut
By Rob Leeds
The loss of Ross Cockrell may be surprising to Buccaneers fans, but it won’t be a huge game-changer in the grand scheme of things.
Hats off to you if you had Ross Cockrell being the first veteran cut on your Buccaneers offseason bingo card.
It was already unlikely that Cockrell would make the roster when it was all said and done, but one would think that the team would at least wait for one of the later rounds before cutting a guy that contributed on a Super Bowl team so recently.
Despite the surprise, this was always the most likely end result, and the good news for Buccaneers fans is that this shouldn’t disrupt too much for the team going forward.
Even with all of the injuries the Bucs faced in 2021, Cockrell didn’t play like a depth corner with his experience should.
The reps on defense shouldn’t be too difficult to replace when its all said and done. The real area where this loss will impact the Bucs is on special teams, but the team can address that too.
Cockrell spent as much time on special teams as he did on defense towards the end of this season, and this shows just how versatile the veteran was. Wearing so many hats on defense and special teams can make it so that any player is hard to replace, but the Bucs have done well to find a lot of new faces that can help serve this role.
Zyon McCollum and Dee Delaney are the biggest winners from this move. The rookie and the fun camp story from 2022 are going to get plenty of shots on defense and special teams as a result of this move, and that should reassure fans that the team is in good hands.
A move like this coming so early helps everyone. Now, guys like McCollum and Delaney will be able to get as many reps as possible in their expanding roles before the season starts, and that is the best way to keep the team in a good position to win.
Any unease that comes from this move so early will be gone before the regular season starts, and that is all that matters.
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