The Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary took a bit of a hit on Wednesday when the team announced that cornerback Mike Jenkins will miss the remainder of the 2014 NFL season with a torn pectoral muscle.
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Yes, that is the same Mike Jenkins that rookie wideout Kelvin Benjamin abused for this first NFL touchdown.
The team signed cornerback Crezdon Butler for depth. Butler, a fifth round pick of the Steelers in 2010, has played for five teams in four seasons so far in his career.
Jenkins was an All-American cornerback for the University of South Florida, and was drafted with the 25th pick of the 2008 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He played for five years with the Cowboys before signing with the Oakland Raiders for last year.
The Buccaneers signed Jenkins on March 20th to compete for a starting cornerback job with the team, which he won this summer over Jonathan Banks. The Buccaneers let veteran Darelle Revis go elsewhere after last season. Jenkins one on of the men slated to replace him.
Over Jenkins’s six-plus year NFL career, he has started 63 games, recording 227 tackles, 49 passes defensed, ten interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He scored his first and only NFL touchdown with the Cowboys in his rookie season of 2008.
Jonathan Banks will immediately replace Jenkins, but the newly signed Butler could compete for the spot if once he learns the defensive playbook.
The Buccaneers are again at home this weekend, when they welcome the St. Louis Rams to Raymond James Stadium for a 3:05 eastern kickoff.