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The Bucs have had a long, slow, methodical plan for oft-injured cornerback Benjamin Morrison throughout training camp, as Pewter Report has previously reported . Last year’s second-round pick, has yet to be a full participant in any camp practices after he suffered yet another hamstring strain in the offseason, which caused him to miss the final OTA practice and the mandatory mini-camp.

But that’s about to change this week. Pewter Report has learned that Morrison is expected to fully participate in team drills this week for the first time in camp, and barring a setback, the Bucs are expecting him to suit up and play in Saturday’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium.

After missing a month of training camp last year and all three preseason games with a hamstring injury, Morrison was also a non-participant in Friday’s preseason opener against the Jets. That means Saturday’s game against the Chiefs would be his first preseason action with the Bucs if he gets through practice this week unscathed.

Bucs CBs coach Rashad Johnson and CBs Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Buccaneers have Saturday and Sunday off to recover from Friday night’s game against the Jets, which was a 24-16 win by Tampa Bay, before four straight practices at the AdventHealth Training Center Monday through Thursday. Whether the team will allow Morrison to fully participate in four straight practices remains to be seen, but the team is cautiously optimistic that Morrison’s latest hamstring injury may be behind him.

Benjamin Morrison’s Time With The Bucs Has Been Hamstrung So Far

The Bucs had high hopes when they drafted Benjamin Morrison out of Notre Dame with their second-round pick in 2025 that he would ultimately replace Jamel Dean as a starter opposite Zyon McCollum this season. Instead, Jacob Parrish, who was drafted in the third round last year, has easily been the better – and healthier – player.

Parrish played in all 17 games last year as a rookie and impressed with solid play that included two interceptions, two sacks and a fumble recovery, in addition to seven pass breakups and seven tackles for loss. Morrison didn’t fare as well and wound up missing seven games in his rookie season due to hamstring injuries that began in last offseason.

Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Morrison missed the final day of the mandatory mini-camp with a hamstring injury last summer and then later re-injured his hamstring in training camp, causing him to miss all three preseason games and a month’s worth of practices. That left him woefully behind in terms of gaining experience in Todd Bowles defense.

Then a quad injury kept him out of the season opener at Atlanta. The Notre Dame product finally made his NFL debut in Week 2 but suffered another hamstring injury in a Week 3 against the Jets. Morrison returned to action the next week versus the Eagles before sitting out Weeks 5-6 with a lingering hamstring injury.

After playing in four consecutive games, Morrison’s hamstring injury flared up again, causing him to miss four games and a month’s worth of action before playing in the final three games of the season. In all, Morrison only played in 10 games during his rookie campaign, including three starts.

Morrison had corrective surgery to repair a hip labrum tear during his junior season at Notre Dame like he had on the other hip in high school. Whether those hip surgeries have caused problems with his hamstrings hasn’t been determined. Bucs trainers have been very cautious with Morrison this offseason, keeping him out of team drills for the first three weeks of training camp to guard against a setback.

The Bucs have ramped up his activity in recent days, mixing in some rest days along with some days where Morrison has been in uniform and has gone through individual drill work. Now the thinking is to fully incorporate Morrison into special teams work and 11-on-11 periods to see if his hamstring injury is actually behind him and prepare him for Week 1 in Cincinnati.

Bucs CBs Ayden Garnes and Benjamin Morrison – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The team still has high hopes for Morrison, but with all of the missed time in training camp it has allowed other cornerbacks, such as undrafted free agent Ayden Garnes and Pepe Williams, who was on the practice squad last year, to shine with increased reps. Garnes had a pick-six and a big tackle for loss in Friday’s win over the Jets, and Williams had a team-high 12 tackles and a sack. Morrison’s roster spot is assured given his draft status, but his place on the depth chart is not.

Morrison will have to go out and prove himself in practice and in the final two preseason games in order to keep pace with Garnes, Williams and rookie Keionte Scott, the team’s fourth-round pick.

And of course, he’ll have to prove he can stay healthy first and foremost.