Undrafted free agent wins starting nickel corner job with Bucs

As Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times notes, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles expects to have more rookies and undrafted free agents on his 2023 squad than he has ever had on one of his teams. Given that the Bucs lead the league in dead money, they naturally have to fill out their roster with modest contracts, and players who may not have gotten a chance elsewhere will have an opportunity to make a name for themselves in Tampa.

One such player is Christian Izien, whom Bowles named as the club’s starting nickel corner, via Stroud. Izien, a UDFA from Rutgers who signed with the Bucs in May, immediately impressed the team’s coaching staff with his speed and athleticism, traits that Bowles wants to inject into his defense this year.

As Scott Smith of the team’s official website details, Izien played safety during his first three collegiate seasons and moved to the slot in his redshirt senior year. With Ryan Neal and Antoine Winfield Jr. set to occupy the Bucs’ starting safety positions, Tampa Bay always had the slot cornerback role in mind for Izien, who saw action in the club’s first and third preseason games.

In the preseason finale against the Ravens, Izien chased down Baltimore quarterback Anthony Brown, who had broken off a long run into the Tampa Bay redzone, and punched out the ball from behind. The Bucs recovered the fumble, and Izien seemingly cemented himself as the starting nickel.

While Izien was occasionally beaten in coverage during his preseason audition, the Bucs hope that his explosiveness will compensate for whatever struggles he has in that regard as he adjusts to professional offenses. The fact that he is surrounded by veterans in the secondary, including Neal and Winfield at safety and Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean on the boundaries, will certainly help.

Izien beat out veteran Dee Delaney and rookie sixth-rounder Josh Hayes for the job.