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When Ali Marpet was drafted in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers raved about his ability to play anywhere on the line.
After starting out playing at right guard his first two seasons, the team moved him to center in 2017. He suffered a knee injury last season that placed him on injured reserve, cutting short the experiment at center.
On Tuesday morning, head coach Dirk Koetter sat down with the media during the NFL Owner’s Meetings. Via Joe Bucs Fan, Koetter let it be known that Marpet will move to left guard.
The move back to guard was obvious and expected upon the signing of veteran center Ryan Jensen. What was not obvious was the move to left guard. Those who feel left tackle Donovan Smith needs all the help he can get will be happy with this news.
Unfortunately, while the team is confident in Marpet’s abilities to play anywhere inside, the 24-year-old was very successful playing right guard. He’ll now have to learn to play a new position at the NFL level.
This will raise questions on the Bucs’ plans moving forward. Speculation will swirl on if the team is still hopeful for J.R. Sweezy, what they’ll do with Caleb Benenoch, or if they’ll still target Quenton Nelson in the draft.