For all the injury issues crushing the Bucs this year, the secondary managed to make it through nine games relatively unscathed.
That’s not the case anymore.
First there was the injury to cornerback Brent Grimes that prohibited him from finishing last Sunday’s game in Kansas City. Now it’s a four-game suspension to fellow cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah. The team sent out a press release at 4:12 p.m. Tuesday stating that the second-year corner “has been suspended without pay for the team’s next four games for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.”
According to the release, Adjei-Barimah’s suspension begins immediately and he will be able to return to the active roster Monday, Dec. 19, the day after Tampa Bay’s Week 15 road game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Included in the team’s press release was a statement from Adjei-Barimah: “I take a lot of pride in the hard work and dedication that I put in all year in preparation for each season and that is why this situation is so difficult for me personally. As a member of this team, it is very disappointing to have to miss the next four games and not be out there battling with my teammates as we go down the stretch. I apologize to my family, the Bucs organization, my teammates, as well as the fans for this situation. I promise to stay focused and be ready for the last two games of the regular season.”
In his second year out of Bowling Green, Adjei-Barimah has played as the team’s primary nickelback this season. His 290 total defensive snaps are third most among Bucs cornerbacks, behind starters Brent Grimes and Vernon Hargreaves III.
Grimes suffered a quad injury in Kansas City. His status and that of Verner will be updated by the team Wednesday. Josh Robinson, a free agent signing this offseason, entered when Verner left late. The two defensive snaps were his first of the year. The fifth-year veteran out of UCF has played special teams exclusively.
A day after the announced suspension, Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith spoke about the new challenges facing his cornerbacks.
“That’s part of the game,” Smith said of Adjei-Barimah’s four-game absence. “He’s injured in our mind and he can’t play and that’s how we have to approach it and it’s the next man up mentality. And I’m sure that whoever lines up in that position is going to be able to handle it and everybody’s expecting them to handle it.”
In response to the suspension and injury issues, Tampa Bay activated rookie cornerback Javien Elliott from the practice squad Tuesday.
“He’s got very good quickness,” Smith said of the Florida State product. “He’s a very highly competitive player. He’s going against the best receivers on our team every day and he’s played a lot of snaps in practice and he’s seen a lot of good receivers. He’s a great story. I think we all know his story, a walk-on at Florida State and now he’s playing in the NFL and now he’s going to get an opportunity to be on a 53-man roster. So, it’s a great story.”
Adjei-Barimah’s situation is the second late-season PED suspension given a Bucs defensive player in as many years. Middle linebacker Kwon Alexander was forced to sit out the final four games of the 2015 season. Former Bucs fullback Jorvorskie Lane was given a two-game, PED-related suspension in 2014.
