Jacob Parrish has a back sprain, X-rays and MRI clear after Bengals game

Jacob Parrish went down late in the second quarter at Paycor Stadium on Sunday, attempting to tackle Cincinnati receiver Tee Higgins during a Bengals touchdown drive. The Buccaneers cornerback was ruled questionable to return with a back injury and did not play again, leaving second-year cornerback Benjamin Morrison to close out the game in his place.

Key facts

• Jacob Parrish went down late in the second quarter at Cincinnati while attempting to tackle Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, and did not return.
• Head coach Todd Bowles said Monday that Parrish has a back sprain and that both his X-rays and MRI came back negative.
• Benjamin Morrison replaced Parrish and finished the game with four tackles, including one for loss, and did not allow a reception in coverage.
• The Buccaneers lost 33-27 at Cincinnati on September 13; their next game is Sunday, September 20, at home against the Cleveland Browns.

Two days later, the news was better than the sight of Parrish walking to the sideline had suggested. Speaking to reporters Monday, head coach Todd Bowles said Parrish has a back sprain and that "it's just a matter of getting over the soreness," with both an X-ray and an MRI coming back negative for any structural damage.

What Morrison did in relief

Morrison, a 2025 second-round pick out of Notre Dame who had played a limited role as a rookie, took over at outside cornerback with Cincinnati still trailing and Joe Burrow still throwing. He finished with four tackles, one of them for a loss, and did not allow a reception in coverage over the rest of the game, a solid workout for a player who had missed most of the preseason.

Parrish himself was in his second season as well, taken by Tampa Bay in the fourth round of the 2025 draft out of Kansas State, and had opened this season as a starter opposite Zyon McCollum. His fourth-quarter absence was one part of a Cincinnati game that got away from the Buccaneers in several ways at once, as BucsWorld covered in Buccaneers lose to Cincinnati Bengals 27-33.

No word yet on Week 2

Bowles did not say Monday whether Parrish would be ready to play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, only that the injury itself is not considered serious. Tampa Bay's first official injury report of Week 2 practice is due Wednesday, and that report, not Monday's comments, will be the first real signal on whether Parrish returns to the lineup or Morrison gets another start in his place.

For now, the clean imaging is the headline. A back sprain with negative scans is the kind of injury that tends to resolve on the normal week-to-week rhythm of practice, and Tampa Bay has already seen what its depth at the position looks like if it needs it again. For full bios on both players, see Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison on the Buccaneers roster page, and check the injury report for the latest practice designations as the week goes on.