Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris told reporters Friday that third-year pro Corey Lynch will start in place of injured rookie safety Cody Grimm in Sunday's NFC South showdown with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bucs placed Grimm on season-ending injured reserve Monday after he broke his left fibula during last weekend's 17-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
"I'll put Corey Lynch out there first," Morris told the Bucs' official website. "I've got a lot of confidence in Corey. He's been here for awhile. He's a crafty young man. He plays the game above the neck, and he does some things that we like. I look forward to going to watch him play."
The Bucs also promoted rookie safety Vince Anderson from their practice squad, according to the *St. Petersburg Times*. Anderson has impressed Tampa Bay's coaching staff with his performance in practice, but Lynch brings more game experience, with 21 tackles and one interception in 31 career games.
Lynch was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Anderson, a 25-year-old from Webber International University, initially signed with the New York Giants as a free agent following the 2009 draft. Anderson was cut by the Giants following the 2009 season and signed with the Bucs in August, only to be released and later added to the practice squad.
Notes: Bucs CB Aqib Talib discussed his expletive-laced exchange with an NFL official following the loss to the Ravens, saying he was simply trying to support a teammate, according to *The Tampa Tribune*. "(I have) definitely got to control the emotions, but it's an emotional game," Talib said Friday. "(I was) just defending one of my teammates, man. It's just an emotional game, and I just flared up." Talib reportedly spoke to an unidentified official about a call made by field judge Boris Cheek. The Tribune and the Times reported the official responded by using an expletive of his own to describe how Talib played and that the player then threatened to punch him. Morris defended Talib last Monday, saying he didn't do anything wrong. ... James Lee held off Jeremy Trueblood for the Bucs' right tackle job, Morris said, according to the Times. Lee took over for Trueblood, who sprained his right knee Oct. 24 against the St. Louis Rams, and played so well in the next five games that he will remain the starter. "I don't know if he gives you as much thump as Trueblood, but he definitely plays with a nice demeanor," Morris said of Lee. "The thump really comes from that group and how they play. You get different things from both guys."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
