As the sting of losing Monday night's game to the Eagles wears off, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are left needing to address some pretty key areas of improvement.
Call it silver lining, but the Bucs were exposed on Monday as a team that still has some work to do before they're considered contenders. It's clear they're not yet on the same level as a Super Bowl contender like Philly, but they still have plenty of time to both figure out how to be while also getting well positioned to make a run at an NFC South title.
One of the areas the Bucs will need to shore up is in the secondary. Carlton Davis III has missed the last two games with turf toe, and Jamel Dean needed to come out of Monday's loss mulitple times after getting banged up.
Things got so bad in an already thin secondary that Todd Bowles was scrapping the bottom of the barrell for guys to fill in. It highlighted a problem we all saw coming, that the Bucs simply do not have proper depth at cornerback.
It's something that the front office is wasting no time in addressing.
Buccaneers rumors: Former Bengals, Commanders CB brought in for a workout
According to Jordan Schultz, the Bucs are addressing the depth issues by bringing in former first-round cornerback William Jackson III for a workout this week.
Sources: Former #Commanders CB William Jackson III worked out for the #Buccaneers this morning.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 27, 2023
Jackson’s a sub-4.4 corner who I’m told is fully healthy after enduring a bulging disk in his back last season. pic.twitter.com/LzH1CddOOe
Jackson spent the bulk of his career with the Bengals and Commanders, signing with the latter in 2020 on a deal that paid him over $40 million. He was a first-round pick in a loaded cornerback class back in 2016 and has managed to put together a decent career.
There's a ton of upside in the Bucs bringing Jackson in for a workout, as you can do worse than looking at a former top draft pick when trying to find help filling out cornerback depth. Jackson started four games for Washington last season before later being placed on injured reserve, and Bucs fans will remember him for picking off Tom Brady back in 2021 which helped lead to an upset victory for the Commanders.
Not everything about Jackson is perfect, as he hasn't played since 2022 and his tenure in Washington ended with a bit of drama. During a Week 5 game, Jackson was benched and later made inactive for the next few games after head coach Ron Rivera took issue with his effort. Jackson claims he injured his back, but the whole ordeal ended with him being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jackson's injury is a bit of a concern as the whole reason the Bucs are in this situation is due to injuries ravaging their shallow corner depth. If he can stay healthy, though, Jackson is an instant starting-caliber player who can either help fill in for Davis while he gets healthy or form a nice trio alongside Dean as well.
Either way, it's clear as day that the Bucs need to work on fixing its issue at cornerback and it's nice to see the team not wasting any time in trying to do exactly that.