The Bucs secondary has struggled to remain on the field together this season, and newcomer Troy Hill is not the cure for the team’s ills at the cornerback spot.

Injuries have robbed starting cornerback Jamel Dean of at least four games as he is on injured reserve. Reserve cornerback Bryce Hall was lost for the season following the Bucs’ opener. Nickelback Tykee Smith missed Week 8 with a concussion. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has missed four games.

That’s nine games lost by starters and an additional seven and counting from the team’s top backup at outside cornerback.

With both Dean and Hall on IR the Bucs have turned to Tyrek Funderburk and Josh Hayes to man the outside opposite Zyon McCollum. Funderburk’s initial game action came in Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints when Dean was initially injured. In the midst of a blowout win many thought Funderburk played well in relief. I was a bit more concerned that the undrafted rookie struggled.

There were a couple of good reps for Tyrek Funderburk last week, but far more concerns abound. pic.twitter.com/H8GKrSBOSw

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) October 19, 2024

Bucs CB Tyrek Funderburk and Falcons WR Darnell Mooney – Photo by: USA Today

Per Pro Football Focus, Funderburk was targeted five times in that game. He allowed all five targets to be caught for 42 yards. The following week Funderburk was targeted just twice, but once again allowed both of those targets to be caught for 19 yards. Then in Week 8 Funderburk had a terrible half of football, allowing four catches on five targets for 85 yards and a touchdown. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles benched Funderburk in the second half of that game for Josh Hayes.

Hayes had a better half, allowing just one catch for eight yards, but also struggled on the perimeter in run defense and got juked by Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins on a crucial 13-yard scramble to set up an eventual first down that ran off critical time late in the fourth quarter. Both Hayes and Funderburk are limited athletes who can be exposed if an opposing team chooses to target them, which is why they were No. 4 or No. 5 corners to begin with.

Losing two of their top three outside corners left the Bucs in a tough spot and teams are rarely four deep at any position.

Bucs Look To Add Depth?

Earlier this week the Bucs signed former Rams, Browns and Panthers cornerback Troy Hill to their practice squad. While some might think Hill may be a hedge for further under-performance from Funderburk and Hayes, he doesn’t really play the same position as the others.

Bucs CB Troy Hill – Photo by: USA Today

Hill has played over 4,500 snaps in the NFL over 10 years. Less than half of those have come on the outside and just 65 of those snaps have come since the beginning of 2023. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Hill has transitioned to a slot corner late in his career where his smaller frame and reduced athleticism can still play up.

But the curious thing about the signing is that slot corner is potentially the deepest position on the Bucs team and arguably on the entire team. The Bucs’ starting nickel is Tykee Smith, who is making a case for Defensive Rookie of the Year and just made the All-Rookie team for both former Pewter Reporters Jon Ledyard and Trevor Sikkema.

Behind him is last year’s starter and Swiss army knife Christian Izien, who has played relatively well in the absence of Smith last week. And if for some reason both of those players were unavailable Tavierre Thomas is on the roster. Thomas has had extended success in the past as a slot corner. Hill now makes the Bucs four deep at slot.

I’ll never fault a team for trying to upgrade the bottom of their roster and Hill represents one of the better practice squad players in the NFL. He struggles to play with strength and can get thrown off of routes by bigger, more physical receivers. And while Hill used to be a solid run defender that is not the case this year. He plays with more hesitation than either Izien or Smith and lacks their downhill, sift-through-traffic, take on the biggest, baddest dudes instinct. That is a quality Todd Bowles looks for from his players.

While Hill is a smart addition to Tampa Bay’s practice squad, he is unlikely to help the Bucs current issues at outside corner. And the team should hope that they don’t need him at the spot he plays best because it means they would have sustained multiple injuries once again.