New Bucs safety Jones should push others in secondary

One of the things Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris wants most in his safeties is versatility. He certainly got that in new safety Sean Jones.

"Coming out of college he could play both (free and strong safety), so he's going to provide competition for both (Tanard Jackson and Sabby Piscitelli)," Morris said Wednesday.

The ability to push both of the Bucs' starting safeties may have increased Jones' value to the Bucs, but the primary reason he was signed to a two-year contract Wednesday was to push Piscitelli.

Though it was only his first full season as a starter, Piscitelli struggled both in coverage and as a tackler in 2009. The Bucs' hope is that Jones will either force Piscitelli to get better or prove to be better himself.

"We want to increase the competition all over the (field), and (Jones) is a guy who will do that for us," Morris said of the Browns' 2004 second-round draft pick. "He provides us with a lot more depth, and that's why we're excited to have him."

Jones' ability to help out on special teams is another reason the Bucs are excited to have the former University of Georgia standout. The thing the Bucs are most excited about, however, is the way Jones plays the game.

Though he has recorded 16 interceptions in 59 games for Cleveland and Philadelphia the last four years, he has been described as a physical defender who is at his best working near the line of scrimmage as a run defender.

"He is a nice box player," Morris said. "When you see him, you see a guy who is commanding physically and who has a presence and who comes into the box and has to be accounted for. But he has some natural ball skills on the back end, too.

"So we're really excited to have him. I mean, you're talking about another one of the pieces to the puzzle here. He's a guy who is going to provide us with more depth and more of the attributes we need to have success this year."