Over the next five days, players across the NFL are going to be released. Final cuts will take place on Sunday, August 30th. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be keeping an eye on those names.
Bucs fans know the team needs depth in the secondary, but not every player who becomes available is a fit, and not every player with starting experience makes him good. Enter Mekhi Blackmon. The now-former Colts CB is a free agent after being released by Indianapolis.
Buccaneers fans want to hear more, some going so far as to say we should bring him in, but he isn't going to solve the team's problems, and frankly, Sunday could provide better options.
Mekhi Blackmon's release from the Colts is not going to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Blackmon started 11 of the 17 games he appeared in last season. He posted two interceptions, 7 passes defended, and 64 combined tackles, but he missed all of 2024 and only started three games in his rookie season after going undrafted; that's not a bad thing.
The problem for Blackmon is that he is wildly inconsistent and scheme-specific. Despite starting last season with the Colts, he wasn't good. Fans have called his performance "rough" on social media.
The Colts have waived CB Mekhi Blackmon, replacing him with CB Kenneth Harris. Blackmon played 67% of the defensive snaps last season. Many of those snaps were ROUGH.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) August 26, 2026
The Colts didn't just waive him after having a horrible training camp; they replaced him with a rookie with no experience at the NFL level.
So why do Buccaneer fans want Jason Licht to add him? Because the depth in Tampa isn't as good as we had hoped. Joint practices have shown the holes, but there is still hope. Both Ayden Garnes and Pepe Williams have had impressive moments throughout training camp.
Blackmon was the beneficiary of a rash of injuries in the secondary last season with the Colts. He still managed to rank 98th out of 112 corners that Pro Football Focus graded last season.
The biggest problem, however, is that Blackmon's ceiling is likely already reached, and he isn't going to develop much, if at all. He is 27 years old and has only one full season under his belt. The Buccaneers are better off working to develop their own players.
That all being said, there is plenty of time for Licht to add pieces. Sunday will provide more than 200 free agents to the pool of players without work. Many of them will be cornerbacks, and some of them will have experience while also having a higher ceiling for development.
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