Following a humbling, 25-11 loss on Monday Night Football to the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles commented on Tampa Bay’s banged up secondary. The Bucs were once again without starting cornerback Carlton Davis III, who is slow to recover from a toe injury. During the Eagles game cornerback Jamel Dean went out with a shoulder injury and was replaced by Dee Delaney, who also suffered an undisclosed injury.

“Don’t know much right now until they come in and get checked out,” Bowles said. “I did see Delaney go back in on special teams, so that was encouraging. I’ll find out how bad these guys are in a little while.”

Tampa Bay has a difficult game at New Orleans against the 2-1 Saints, which could be without quarterback Derek Carr, who suffered a shoulder injury in an 18-17 loss at Green Bay. Former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston filled in for Carr, and has played well against Tampa Bay in the past at times. And the Saints still have a pair of good receivers that could pose some problems in Chris Olave and Michael Thomas along with the return of running back Alvin Kamara from a suspension.

Bucs Preparing To See Jameis Winston At Quarterback

Cornerback Dee Delaney recorded the Bucs’ second interception of the game, and the second of his NFL career, to stop an Eagles drive in the second half. Unfortunately, that interception came at the Tampa Bay 1-yard line and led to a safety on the next play. The Eagles defensive front overwhelmed the Bucs offensive line and tackled Rachaad White in the end zone for two points.

Bucs CB Dee Delaney – Photo by: USA Today

If Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean can’t go for the Bucs then Delaney might have to start opposite Zyon McCollum, assuming Delaney is healthy enough to play.

“Delaney came in – he’s a heady ball player,” Bowles said. “He made a great play on the interception play down there on goal line to get his feet in play. We’ve kind of seen that all the time that we’ve had him. We can still as a group – him included – do a better job tackling out on the perimeter.”

After recording just 10 interceptions last year, the Bucs have started off the 2023 season hot with five picks in the first three games. The last time Tampa Bay played in New Orleans was in Week 2 last year where the Bucs intercepted Jameis Winston three times, including a pick-six, in the fourth quarter to win, 20-10.

“We hope to keep getting turnovers, especially in this game,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “The winner of this game usually has the margin of turnover on their side. So we’re preparing for Jameis and I don’t think the offense will change much that way. The bigger problem will be [running back Alvin] Kamara coming back. They have more juice in the backfield to go with the speed they have outside at receiver.”