Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison Signs Rookie Deal with Buccaneers

Tampa Bay took Notre Dame defensive Benjamin Morrison in the second round in this year's draft and while the Bucs didn't offer Morrison a fully guaranteed deal, they did offer the 53rd overall pick a four-year contract, including a 96% guarantee in the third year of the deal. Not too shabby considering Morrison only played in six games before suffering a season-ending hip injury against Stanford.

And good for Morrison and his agent for coming to terms on a pretty good deal. Morrison likely would have been a first-round pick if he stayed healthy the whole season. Tampa Bay has now signed all of its draft picks, unlike the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, and Philadelphia Eagles.

Considering Cleveland, Arizona, Tennessee, and Philadelphia are each waiting on their second-round picks to sign, second-rounders getting fully guaranteed deals might be the way of the future. This has been an unprecedented signing period for second-round picks, and if this does become the new norm, all future second-rounders can thank Higgins for paving the way.

Morrison made an immediate impact at Notre Dame as a freshman back in 2022, and don't be surprised if he does the same for the Bucs. Morrison might not start at all this season for Todd Bowles, but expect him to contribute on special teams and on third down when the Bucs choose to go with an extra defensive back.