TAMPA — Alterraun Verner walked into the Buccaneers locker room 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 equipment manager, but it has been reduced — markedly.
A starter for 16 games after signing with Tampa Bay as a free agent in the spring of 2014, the one-time Pro Bowl cornerback is now just fighting for playing time. He yielded his starting job to Tim Jennings and lost a few of his reserve snaps to Mike Jenkins against Houston on Sunday.
“The coaches have decided to go a different route,” Verner said.