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McClain signing sets up battle for Bucs' last DB jobs

 
Bucs cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, shown last season, has new competition for the nickel defensive back job in veteran Robert McClain, signed on Wednesday.
Bucs cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, shown last season, has new competition for the nickel defensive back job in veteran Robert McClain, signed on Wednesday.
Published May 11, 2017

The Bucs' signing of veteran cornerback Robert McClain on Wednesday adds experience and depth to the Tampa Bay secondary, but also sets up a number of battles -- for roles on the field and jobs on the final roster -- with training camp still more than two months away.

Defensive coordinator Mike Smith, who coached McClain for three years with the Falcons, said the impetus was to add experience to the Bucs' cornerback depth, as most of the options beyond starter Brent Grimes have two years or less in the NFL.

"We brought Robert in here to compete at the corner and the nickel position," said Smith, who played him at nickel in Atlanta. "Robert has a number of starts in the league, he started in the Super Bowl for the Carolina Panthers, so he's got a good pedigree. He's in here to compete. We're trying to get some guys in there that have some experience. Both Jude (Adjei-Barimah) and Javien (Elliott) don't have the experience that Robert has. We expect it to be a very good competition at the nickel spot. Again, we've got to cross-train him to be able to play outside as well."

The nickel, or slot cornerback, was on the field about 63 percent of the defensive snaps last year, so it's practically a starting position, and more important than being the third outside cornerback, since Grimes and Vernon Hargreaves rarely came off the field last season. Smith has set up a three-way battle between newcomer McClain and last year's primary nickels, Adjei-Barimah and Elliott -- it's reasonable to think that only two will make the final 53-man roster.

Overall, the Bucs opened last season with 10 defensive backs -- they later carried only nine -- and now have 16 competing for those jobs. The Bucs really only used eight defensive backs in 2016, even through multiple injuries -- we can write down Grimes, Hargreaves, newcomer J.J. Wilcox and second-round safety Justin Evans as locks to be part of that group. At safety, you'd think Chris Conte and Keith Tandy both make the cut as experienced players who made huge plays during the five-game win streak last year -- it would be a major upset if an unproven player like Isaiah Johnson or rookie Alex Gray were to make the cut ahead of either. That's six jobs out of 10 all but spoken for.

Next? Josh Robinson was given a two-year deal with $3.25-million in guarantees after shining in kick coverage on special teams -- he played only four snaps on defense last year, but would count toward the 10 but has carved out a clear role on special teams. Ryan Smith, a fourth-round pick last year who didn't play a snap on defense, spent most of last season working at safety but is now at corner and projects as a backup there, and he's shown he can contribute as a gunner on special teams as well.

That leaves two spots, likely for the best two out of three nickels -- McClain is a lot like Jacquizz Rodgers was a year ago, someone whose best football had come with the current Bucs coach and scheme, who had gone elsewhere and not had the same success. McClain was cut by the Patriots in 2015 when Mike Smith was out of the league, latched on with Carolina at the end of their Super Bowl run, but was cut duriing their struggles last season and had gone unsigned through two months of free agency. His contract should be modest, meaning he's not a lock to make the roster, so much as the most experienced option. You have Adjei-Barimah, who started seven games at outside corner as an undrafted rookie in 2015, but also served a four-game suspension down the stretch last season; Elliott handled himself well in his place, but also spent most of the year on the practice squad. It's the kind of position battle the folks at "Hard Knocks" often make a central storyline during training camp and the preseason.

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The other five defensive backs on roster are likely competing for practice-squad jobs -- three undrafted rookies in Gray and cornerbacks Jonathan Moxey and Darius Fleming, plus Johnson at safety and former Titans cornerback Cody Riggs, who was out of the league for most of last season. It would take an impressive preseason and/or injuries for one of those five to crack the 53.