ESPN Prediction: Free Agents Will Force Ross Cockrell To Find A New Team
June 28th, 2022
Doomed by free agent signings?
Now this is an interesting move.
Joe is not saying defensive back Ross Cockrell is a new Ronnie Lott waiting to break out. Cockrell, in spot starts and coming off the bench, isn’t an awful defensive back. He may not be a starter but with his versatility, he can save snaps for dudes and can be a plug-and-play kind of guy.
Not for long. Jenna Laine of ESPN decided to do an early 53-man roster breakdown. And indirectly she believes this past spring doomed Cockrell’s future with the Bucs.
Why is that? Well, the Bucs signed veterans Keanu Neal and Logan Ryan. Those guys are versatile like Cockrell — and better. Therefore, Cockrell is expendable and likely not on the roster come September, barring injuries to the secondary.
In fact, Laine is of the mind that Dee Delaney will nose out Cockrell.
Delaney edges out Ross Cockrell and Rashard Robinson for the fifth cornerback spot after a very strong spring. Safety Logan Ryan can back up Murphy-Bunting at nickel.
Ryan brings versatility
How banged up was the Bucs secondary last year? Two guys who played key roles, the bottle of cologne Pierre Desir and Pro Bowler Richard Sherman, are still looking for work on the field.
June 28th, 2022 at 12:05 am
Um, when did Jenna Laine play football?
June 28th, 2022 at 12:19 am
Sparky
What does that have to do with anything? You can be an awesome commentator with great insight on any sport with never having played it.
Hell, some of the best coaches in professional sports were never players.
Had to call you out on that, because it’s ridiculous.
June 28th, 2022 at 12:20 am
Not a shock because he is the worst DB they have.
June 28th, 2022 at 12:44 am
i agree…dee delaney is making the roster, and the rest of the secondary has been bolstered to the point cockrell is out…
if…
the secondary gets injury bit like last year and he is blowing in the win, he’ll become a buc again…
but…i would advise said dude to sign on with another team, take his bucs superbowl ring and savor it
June 28th, 2022 at 12:54 am
roster tweaking over a couple of seasons, no matter how successful the team, inevitably causes a small chunk of player turnover…it’s the biz…
heck, we even have a new head coach already
June 28th, 2022 at 12:55 am
Al Michaels was an awful football player. /s
June 28th, 2022 at 12:55 am
Is 5 the normal carrying #? #3 is basically a starter in modern times so you have 2 backups? Feel like we could easily justify 6 based in last year, but guess they figure they can keep an extra safety when a few of them can play slot
June 28th, 2022 at 12:55 am
now if we can somehow find a pill to give to kid cOtton, so he can grow a beard and furnish some chest hairs
June 28th, 2022 at 2:04 am
We have one outside corner that has proven himself to be consistently good, so letting any corner on our team walk seems like a horrible idea. Lol, we should be adding, not subtracting corners. If our defense can regain it’s 2020 playoff form, we are going to kick serious butt, but I gotta see it to believe it.
June 28th, 2022 at 2:51 am
They’ll stash him on IR first.
June 28th, 2022 at 3:59 am
Mr Ed In Drag eats her oats again!
June 28th, 2022 at 5:23 am
You’re a classy lady, Goatf***er.
June 28th, 2022 at 6:24 am
Are u serious! Logan Ryan backing up SMB? Did anyone see smb performance last year? He was awful, especially in playoff game against Rams. He need to go back to the basic of tackling. Logan Ryan will start.
June 28th, 2022 at 6:59 am
Coburn … You nailed it; Bucs will keep 6 CBs, plus 4 Safeties. CBs: Davis, Dean, SMB, Delaney, Cockrell & McCollum. Safeties: Winfield; Edwards, Neal, Ryan. (If you look at the Bucs site, they list both Neal & Ryan as Safeties, even though Ryan can play multiple positions).
David: Cockrell wasn’t our worst CB in 2021 by any means. He’s a decent journeyman CB (not starter material) who can come off the bench & do a respectable job. Look at what some of the other Bucs CBs in that category did last season:
o Cockrell: 17 games (started 4) … 474 def snaps … 7 PDs, 0 INTs, 1 FF, 43 tackles … 48 targets, 32 completions (66.7%) … 3 TDs allowed; 328 yds … 28 blitzes, 4 Pressures (0 sacks)
o Delaney: 15 games (started 2) … 213 def snaps … 2 PDs, 1 INTs, 0 FF, 17 tackles … 26 targets, 17 completions (73.1%) … 0 TDs allowed; 227 yds … 2 blitzes,0 Pressures (0 sacks)
o Desir: 12 games (started 2) … 308 def snaps … 4 PDs, 2 INTs, 1 FF, 28 tackles … 33 targets, 24 completions (72.7%) … 0 TDs allowed; 292 yds … 0 blitzes, 0 Pressures (0 sacks)
Looks to me like Todd Bowles put a lot more faith into Cockrell as a backup CB than he did the 2 others. Having the HC/DC show confidence in your abilities is probably a good thing when it comes to making a team.
June 28th, 2022 at 7:32 am
Perhaps….but that may depend on how many CBs we keep & ST players…..
June 28th, 2022 at 8:53 am
@DR, always there with the numbers that paint the clearer picture. Good job my friend. Yea, Delany is going to “nose out” Cockrell when Bowles demonstrated his trust in Cockrell by giving him more than twice as many snaps as Delany. ok…
June 28th, 2022 at 9:25 am
Should make for another interesting camp battle
June 28th, 2022 at 11:14 am
Bottle of cologne Pierre Desir LMAO!!!! One of Joes best names ever
June 28th, 2022 at 11:16 am
Senor Harry … Still think that both Cockrell AND Delaney will make the 53-man roster, unless of course a dark horse appears (seems like every year several make the roster that no one expected to). They’re both quite experienced now in Todd Bowles defense, and that’s invaluable IMO. Makes developing ‘chemistry’ in various position groups much easier IF the backups have to replace starters.
One thing about Cockrell that stood out to me is that he blitzed meh most (28) of any CB (and almost as much as Whitehead who led the Secondary with 30 blitzes). That tells me a lot about what Bowles thought of his understanding of the defense, and the trust he had in him.
June 28th, 2022 at 11:18 am
Hmmm, ‘meh most’ where’d that come from? Word was supposed to be ‘almost’
June 28th, 2022 at 11:40 am
BS, find a spot. You can never have too many defensive backs
June 28th, 2022 at 1:49 pm
Was that SMB that was standing 3 to 4 feet away from the on coming receiver (ON PURPOSE) and attempting to tackle with his finger tips? If so, and if I were the coach Even as desperate as I would clearly would have been, I’d bench his arse so damn fast, and make a shart show out of it so that Everyone got the message! He DESERVED shame! Whoever that was. I’m not sure other than I saw “someone” give me up chucking nightmares of a Smith run defense. I saw others as well. He’ll maybe the same guy a few other times here and there and I couldn’t believe that Todd Bowles much less Bruce Arians would stand for that blatant COWARDNESS!
At that point it would be Critical that I sent a message to the entire team and I SURELY would have crucified that sorry Arse SOB, NO STOP! I would rather 10 out of 10 times put a rookie in with a HEART that’s GOING TO try to bring the receiver down than have a “supposed” veteran (coward) Literally almost jump into the fetal position as the guy ran right by him whom has “allegedly” attempted to tackle someone with their Fingertips!
I’d have the cowardly lions Kicking Rocks buddy!
GO BUCS!
June 28th, 2022 at 1:54 pm
Needless to say that back to the basics “What it is to be a man” on a professional NFL football team 101, would be the the first area of need to be addressed for some at the very start of training camp…
GO BUCS!
June 28th, 2022 at 3:10 pm
I’m not in love with Cockrell, but when you consider how the Bucs DBs were a MASH unit’s dream last season, I don’t see how he could be released. The CBs are injury prone as hell.
June 28th, 2022 at 3:21 pm
Jenna has never exactly bowled me over with her football observations, like Grandpa Ira (just kidding, I’m no relation to the sage) has. But she is much easier on the eyes than Ira.
June 28th, 2022 at 9:02 pm
Let’s allow them to compete for the job!
June 29th, 2022 at 4:33 pm
Hes the ideal #6 CB.
Horrible #4 CB.
I said it last year before the draft.
Trask should have been a CB.
Darden should have been a CB.