The season has mercifully come to an end for Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum after the team placing him on injured reserve on Monday, December 15, with a hip injury.
McCollum will miss at least the final 3 regular season games and an NFC Wild Card Round game, should the Buccaneers make it to the playoffs.
“Bad news on injury front for Bucs — corner Zyon McCollum is headed to injured reserve, so he’ll miss the rest of the regular season and a wild-card game,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on X.
The move came just days after McCollum made what proved to be a game-changing mistake in a 29-28, Week 15 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. It was the second consecutive loss for the Buccaneers and fifth loss in the last 6 games.
In the first quarter, with the Buccaneers leading 7-0, McCollum jumped offsides on a 31-yard field goal attempt, giving the Falcons a new set of first downs. On the next play, Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts caught the first of 3 touchdown passes.
“It was a big lapse of concentration,” Bowles said on Friday, December 12. “He was antsy, from the tape, at the start. You’ve got to stay onside. That takes a lot of discipline. He’s got to be better than that.”
McCollum has had a hard time being better than anyone since he signed a 3-year, $48 million contract extension on September 5.
“McCollum came into the season with insane hype,” The Pewter Plank’s Josh Hill wrote on December 15. “He had played his way both into a CB1 role on defense and a fat new contract extension. Getting ahead of his pending free agency this upcoming March, the Bucs gave McCollum a three-year, $48 million deal only to watch him regress more and more as the season wore on … The entire defense has underperformed, but McCollum’s struggles have been particularly upsetting. He was primed for a huge year and has completely flamed out, adding pressure to an already volatile situation involving how things are going on that side of the ball.”
Buccaneers Continue to Overpay in Secondary
The Buccaneers could be headed for wholesale changes this offseason no matter what happens the rest of the way — that might include head coach Todd Bowles getting his walking papers.
The Buccaneers and general manager Jason Licht have a disturbing trend of overpaying in the secondary, which seems to have continued with McCollum’s contract extension.
In March 2022, they signed Carlton Davis III to a 3-year, $44.5 million contract extension only to trade him to the Detroit Lions 2 years later. In March 2023, they signed cornerback Jamel Dean to a 4-year, $52 million contract extension only to watch his play fall off a cliff.
In May 2024, the Buccaneers signed NFL All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to a 4-year, $84.1 million contract extension — the biggest contract for a safety in NFL history — and have watched his play continue to decline over the last 2 years, including missing a career-high 8 games in 2024 due to injuries.
“McCollum’s discipline wasn’t the issue (on the offsides), that’s having your head up your arse,” Joe Bucs Fan wrote on December 14. “Joe suspects at least one change coming for the Bucs this offseason is the secondary may look a whole lot different when OTAs begin. And it is partially because of stunts like that.”
Buccaneers Get Bad News on Embattled $48 Million CB