TAMPA — Alterraun Verner walked into the Buccaneers locker room on Thursday and began tossing jerseys that weren’t his into lockers that don’t belong to him.
No, Verner’s role has not been reduced to that of an equipment manager, but it has been reduced. Markedly.
A starter for the first 16 games he played after signing with the Bucs as a free agent in the spring of 2014, the one-time Pro Bowl cornerback is now just fighting for playing time.
“The coaches have decided to go a different route,’’ said Verner, who has yielded his starter’s job to Tim Jennings and lost a few of his reserve snaps last week to Mike Jenkins.