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Trae Waynes: Mike Zimmer says he was ‘overzealous’ with rookie

By Dan Zinski

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Rookie CB Trae Waynes struggled mightily in his first preseason game, then played somewhat better in game 2 despite being targeted by Jameis Winston.

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To help Waynes’ improvement even more, Mike Zimmer has decided to scale back the rookie’s workload this weekend against the Raiders.

Speaking to the media from Winter Park on Thursday, Zimmer admitted he may have put too much on Waynes’ plate by working him in the slot in nickel as well as giving him reps on the outside.

A couple weeks ago in Mankato Zimmer explained his rationale for giving Waynes looks in the slot (via 1500ESPN):

"“There’s a lot more involved being in there,” Zimmer said. “I think it’s going to be good for his overall development regardless if he ever plays in there again or not. I think it will be good for him.”"

Waynes looked horribly overmatched in his first preseason action vs. the Steelers, and got picked on some more by Jameis Winston against the Buccaneers.

Despite Waynes’ early struggles Mike Zimmer expressed confidence in his rookie cornerback:

"Part of the thing that I want to do is not take him out. I want to find out what kind of toughness he had. When things happen like that, you get a couple penalties on you, how are you going to fight back, how are you going to respond, and I thought he did a nice job with those things. He’s just got to learn some of the technical things about the NFL."

Learning the technical things about the NFL might be easier for Waynes if he isn’t being asked to work at multiple positions.

We’ll see how Waynes responds to this new less-is-more approach.

We’ll also see how many snaps Captain Munnerlyn gets this week with Waynes no longer taking on nickel duties.

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