Bucs' season-opening triumph comes at a cost of 3 cornerbacks Already depleted on the defensive line entering Sunday's season opener, the Bucs found themselves with a dearth of cornerbacks less than three minutes into the second half. Starter Zyon McCollum exited after sustaining a concussion on an illegal block from Commanders receiver Olamide Zaccheaus late in the first quarter. By the early moments of the second half, Josh Hayes, among the four pure corners suited up Sunday, had joined McCollum on the sideline with an ankle injury. Then with 12:52 remaining in the third quarter, veteran Bryce Hall was carted off with an unsightly ankle injury sustained on a Brian Robinson run play. That left veterans Jamel Dean and offseason signee Tavierre Thomas, a safety-corner hybrid, as the only corners available. Former undrafted free agent Christian Izien, who didn’t log one rep at outside corner during training camp, was inserted immediately after Hall went down. He finished with two tackles, one pass defended and a forced fumble as the Bucs held rookie quarterback Jaylen Daniels to 184 passing yards and limited Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin, a 1,000-yard receiver in 2023, to two catches on four targets. "I haven't played outside corner probably since high school," said Izien, who made the 53-man roster as a rookie out of 2023 training camp. "I just studied for free safety, strong safety, nickel, everything else. It wasn't on my bucket list to play outside corner today, but just knowing the defense, learning the defense and having an opportunity to just get out there and play with older players to help me, it was big for me and helped me play confident." Todd Bowles said his staff will assess the severity of the injuries before making personnel decisions at cornerback, but conveyed confidence in Izien going forward. Tyrek Funderburk, an undrafted rookie from Appalachian State who was deemed inactive Sunday, also will have to be ready, Bowles said. "(Izien) has not lined up at corner one day in training camp, but he plays nickel, so nickel and corner have the same jobs on certain things," Bowles added. "(It's) just hearing it from a different angle, and the safeties helped out a lot. The (secondary) coaches did a good job getting him ready, and he did a good job." Joey Knight, Tampa Bay Times, published 9 September 2024