In a report first made public by ESPN’s Jenna Laine, it has been confirmed to PewterReport.com that Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback, Jude Adjei-Barimah, will undergo surgery to repair a patellar fracture in his right knee. There is not set date for the surgery yet, but it will be happening soon – that has been confirmed.

This was the same injury that sidelined Adjei-Barimah during the 2016 season. He re-injured it in a non-contact drill during training camp. There is no exact timetable for his return at this time. That will be made more clear following his surgery.

Adjei-Barimah took over as the team’s primary nickel cornerback during the 2016 campaign once, then, rookie Vernon Hargreaves moved to the outside. This training camp, he has been rotating reps with second-year player, Javien Elliott, and free agent acquisition, Robert McClain.

Elliott was performing well on the first team, even before Adjei-Barimah’s injury, but this now leaves the Buccaneers thin in terms of experience at cornerback. The injury likely allows for Grimes, Hargreaves, Elliott, McClain and Ryan Smith to assume locks on the 53-man roster, but perhaps there will be another cornerback kept, too.

Rookies Maurice Fleming and Jonathan Moxey are the other two cornerbacks on the camp roster currently. Cody Riggs and Josh Robinson – who are still on the team – were listed at cornerback last season, but are now listed as safeties.

Don’t look for the Buccaneers to make a huge free agency splash to fill in another corner spot. It will likely be a player signing for the minimum that they will bring on to compete for a final roster spot or just have as a camp body. Alternatively, they could be happy with how Fleming and Moxey are performing enough to let it ride out through camp.