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Brent Grimes happy to be back, healthy at Bucs practice

Veteran cornerback had missed nearly two weeks with undisclosed injury, but got INT on deep ball Monday.
 
Published Aug. 13, 2018

Veteran cornerback Brent Grimes had returned to practice in a limited capacity Saturday, but Monday saw him back in 11-on-11 full-squad work for the first time in nearly two weeks.

"We want Brent Grimes out there. He's our best cover guy, so it's great to have Brent out there," Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said.

He came up with one of the best plays of the morning practice, reeling in an interception on a deep pass intended for DeSean Jackson.

"It was just good to be out here. I've just been a guy hanging around for a while," Grimes said. "That was just a normal deep ball: See the ball in the air, make a play on the ball."

Grimes' injury hasn't been disclosed, but he said there's great importance to him getting back on the field, even though at 35 he doesn't need the reps as much as his younger counterparts.

"For my sanity, I just need to move around," he said. "I'm not good at sitting still for real long. So it's good to come out and work with the guys, be part of the team. Obviously I'm in meetings and in the locker room, but to get out and put in the football work, you feel part of the team more when you do that. It makes my day much better."

The Bucs have two second-round rookies competing at cornerback and nickel in M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis, and Grimes said he says a greater comfort level in third-year pro Vernon Hargreaves when he plays inside at nickel, compared to opposite Grimes at outside corner.

"In my eyes, when he's playing inside at nickel, he really seems to be much more comfortable," Grimes said. "I've seen that out of him. He's always had skills, always can play the ball, always has good feet, things like that. You can tell he's a little more comfortable with that nickel position, because compared to outside, it's a lot more knowing checks and motions and he seems to just be playing, not as much thinking about what's going on. He looks comfortable."