Letting Jamel Dean Walk Would Be A Mistake
November 20th, 2022
Bucs need him back.
In a feature on choosing the best 2022 free agents, former Jets and Dolphins general manager Mike Tannenbaum, typing for BSPN, identified a Bucs corner as a guy who will draw a bunch of interest.
That man is Jamel Dean.
Dean has been pretty good for a couple of years but this year Joe thinks he has developed into one of the better corners in the NFL. He and fellow cornerback Carlton Davis have made for a nice tandem.
In short, Dean is going to get paid.
Matt Bowen of BSPN detailed why Dean is a strong corner. Tannenbaum seems to think the Bucs will let him walk.
Why he could get paid: Dean has the length and top-end speed to disrupt throwing windows in zone coverage or match down the field against vertical concepts. He fits best as an outside one-third defender in a zone scheme. Dean had double-digit pass breakups in each of his first three seasons, and he is proving impactful again this season with a pair of interceptions, 42 tackles and six more breakups. — Matt Bowen.
Will he re-sign in Tampa Bay? The Buccaneers just signed cornerback Carlton Davis III to a three-year, $45 million extension, but I think they will let Dean walk. He has good size (6-foot-1) and decent production, but Tampa Bay can probably find a cheaper replacement in the 2023 draft to pair with Davis. — Mike Tannenbaum.
Joe thinks letting Dean walk would be a mistake. Sure, the Bucs can find a replacement. But can they find a good corner as a replacement? Big difference.
The NFL is a passing league. Teams do not stay good or improve by letting go of good young corners. Dean will be 26 when the 2023 season begins.
The Bucs have a bunch of thirtysomething veterans who won’t be in the league while at the same time, Dean will be in his prime.
In Joe’s eyes, it would be pennywise and pound-foolish to let Dean walk. The Bucs would regret it.
November 20th, 2022 at 12:30 am
He’s better than CD24. It would be a mistake to let him walks
November 20th, 2022 at 12:30 am
Walk*
November 20th, 2022 at 12:37 am
Could pay less for SMB and have a cheaper, in house, repleacement.
November 20th, 2022 at 12:55 am
We’re in an awful cap problem going into next year. And that doesn’t even take into account what we’d need to pay Brady if he decides to come back as many seem to think he will (lately). Dean might just be too much to commit to, especially considering they will probably wanna wrap up Winfield and Wirfs to long-term deals… And they need to keep David as he’s still playing well and he’s been a cornerstone. You don’t let guys like that walk. I think they could overcome Dean’s loss. The other ones, not so much.
November 20th, 2022 at 1:09 am
No way in hell they just let him walk….
They will at least TENDER him, but might franchise tag him ??
Not going to just let him walk…
November 20th, 2022 at 1:47 am
BF88-
A tender is only offered for restricted free agents.
The franchise tag means you’re willing to make him one of the highest paid corners in the league. (1) He hasn’t earned that. This is is first consistent AND healthy year. (2) The Bucs can’t afford that. All our other priority players have to be considered as well and there’s no way he’s as important as some of them. I’d love to have him back, but I think it’s more likely he moves on.
November 20th, 2022 at 1:59 am
pay dean, let smb go
November 20th, 2022 at 4:30 am
Letting whitehead go was a mistake!!!!! Should’ve paid him instead of Lenny our young secondary had developed nicely.
November 20th, 2022 at 4:34 am
Franchise him.
Hes a legit 1 CB.
Keep him at any cost.
November 20th, 2022 at 5:02 am
Whether or not to re-sign Jamel is one of those ‘damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t’ decisions that Bucs will face in 2023 thanks to our horrendous salary CAP position. When you’re ALREADY sitting at $49 mil OVER the projected 2023 salary CAP with only 32 players signed & 27 free agents to contend with, you’re caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
At some point, whether it be 2023 or 2024, we’ll have to bite the bullet just like Atlanta & Carolina have done and let go of some of our high-priced veterans. It stinks, but THAT’S the cost of having a salary CAP like the NFL has. It promotes parity in the long run, but can be manipulated in the short term … just like the Bucs, Saints, Rams & Chiefs have all done in recent years.
The biggest decision when it comes to ‘down-sizing’ IMO is determining WHO YOU WANT TO BE. In recent years the Bucs spent their money on OFFENSE, and became an offensive juggernaut. Our DEFENSE got lower priority in salary CAP dollars, until last year (Davis & Vea & LVD’s contracts). Now we’re looking at having to re-sign or replace Dean in 2023, PLUS Edwards, SMB & Nelson from the same class PLUS LVD, Hicks, Gholston, RNR, Ryan, Neal, Nassib & 4 others on our current defense. That’s 15 players, well over HALF of our current #3-ranked defense.
So with limited pesos, the question becomes WHO DO WE WANT TO BE. Do we want to focus on DEFENSE & try to re-sign many of those … at the expense of our current OFFENSE? Or do we want to try to remain an offensive powerhouse, and gut our defense? We’ve gotten BOTH in the last 3 years by kicking the salary CAP can down the street. We just ran out of street. I’m betting that we’ll go DEFENSE (and re-sign Dean as part of that). Gut feel is that THAT’S why the Bucs hierarchy chose to dual-hat Todd Bowles as HC & DC. DEFENSE was their long-range plan once Tom Brady exits stage-right.
but then White in 2024 & Winfield in 2025.
November 20th, 2022 at 5:59 am
I think a lot will come down to how they feel about The raw rookie they picked up this year.
November 20th, 2022 at 7:15 am
DR – “At some point, whether it be 2023 or 2024, we’ll have to bite the bullet just like Atlanta & Carolina have done and let go of some of our high-priced veterans.”
Exactly. And this isn’t really an opinion, it’s just the simple truth of our situation that we mst accept as the price for a few super bowl runs. Totally worth it, but the time of reckoning is nearly here. And look, I get the hopefulness and hunger for clues about Brady’s future. But will the Bucs still have enough of a supporting cast for him?
Enough of that. Right now we have the Browns’ arses to kick next weekend.
November 20th, 2022 at 7:32 am
I’m going to toot my own horn-
I have been saying it for 2 1/2 years. Dean is their best cornerback and had a ton of potential because he has the speed to recover. SMB is average.
I was saying last year that Dean should start.
Unless their Pass Rush suddenly becomes all world, they absolutely cannot let him walk.
November 20th, 2022 at 7:39 am
Here is the thing is Brady wants to play again in 2023 you sign him. The Bucs have a much affect on the team winning than Dean.
November 20th, 2022 at 8:00 am
“Pay the man”…..over-simplistic”
We have spent so much to put this year’s team together there is no money for 23.
November 20th, 2022 at 8:13 am
Hes the best cb on roster for last 4 yrs and will be paid more then cd24
November 20th, 2022 at 8:39 am
Eagles probably have the best pair of corners in the league, Dean/Davis isn’t far behind
November 20th, 2022 at 8:43 am
Dean is going nowhere.
Period. End of discussion.
FWIW, I have always thought Dean > Davis, and Davis is really good.
November 20th, 2022 at 9:13 am
Let SMB and Mike Edwards walk. Dean has been the second best player on defense behind Winfield.
November 20th, 2022 at 10:11 am
I swear to god. If we let him walk so we can pay the one week looks like an all pro calibre the next week looks like a practice squad ILB.
I’m going to have a heart attack.
November 20th, 2022 at 10:11 am
Fortunately Jason Licht has the controls. If Mork Dumbernik was in office, he would surely let him walk because Ryan Smith is looking better on the practice squad and McCollum is ready to roll.
Think of Michael Bennett.
November 20th, 2022 at 10:20 am
Defund SMB.
November 20th, 2022 at 10:21 am
Finish this year strong first
Then Glazers get out the checkbook for my guy!
It’s just Dean!
Go Bucs
November 20th, 2022 at 10:26 am
Letting Jamel Dean walk would be borderline criminal imo
November 20th, 2022 at 11:13 am
Keep Dean, let Bunting go.
November 20th, 2022 at 11:14 am
SMB gotta go n should’ve let CD24 walk n drafted a corner instead of Logan hall , who I like , nothing against him at all. Saved that money for Dean that CD got🤷🏾♂️. Heck we could’ve gotten Suh n Hicks for this season
November 20th, 2022 at 11:44 am
Dean is a likely a cap casualty. Not saying he isnt worth it. He likely gets priced out of our range. Davis and Dean both miss games, and investing 30 mill in two players on the backside is folly. This wasnt the no fly zone defense. Noone looks at our secondary and is afraid. You gotta spend that money on the pass rush up front and hope that player stops the run as well. At the very least you save the money you were gonna give to Dean and give it to Winfield.
November 20th, 2022 at 11:47 am
Reserving my right to change my mind if the NFL continues officiate how hard the linemen tackle the QB. If that continues to be a thing, then maybe investing on the back end would be better.
November 20th, 2022 at 11:48 am
Bowles is a defensive coach and his money will go to defensive guys.
Brady’s money will be used to make the Bucs a defensive team. The problem now is that this is a team in transition, going from an Arians team to a Bowles team.
Dean will be kept and a few defensive free agents will be added, next season will be team that the offense only needs to score 17 points per game to make the playoffs.
November 20th, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Can’t let Jameel walk. He’s there best corner, yes better than Davis. More consistent. If any leaves it has to be Bunting. Terrible
November 20th, 2022 at 12:23 pm
Love to keep him but you can only shove so much money down the road. Nearly 50 mil in the hole for 2023 salary cap and the possibility of Brady coming back.
November 20th, 2022 at 12:59 pm
I’m definitely a Dean fan and hope we can keep him. I’m not big on SMB, that touchdown he gave up to the Squaks in the back corner of the end zone was so bad he had Winfield Jr. and the rest of the Buccaneers fan base shaking their heads. It was a great pass but I saw it more on SMB than Geno. Dean however does not disappoint
November 20th, 2022 at 3:05 pm
If Brady isn’t bad, then it doesn’t matter since Trask is going to have the Bucs competing for the top overall pick.
If Brady is back, then it’s going to be nearly impossible to keep a lot of guys because of the cap.
But I agree, you don’t want young corners playing, they’re normally awful. SEE the Bucs defense when they had all young guys playing and how terrible they were in 2018.
November 20th, 2022 at 4:19 pm
Bucs are great in the drafts, but not so great on keeping good players. JPP, Whitehead and Suh ALL made great plays for their new teams. JPP actually won the game.
November 20th, 2022 at 5:02 pm
The bigger issue is attitude and energy. Thanks to Bowles, every existing member of this defense excluding Logan Ryan (an outsider) has mentally checked out, lost discipline, got confused, freelanced, screwed up at many points this season. Sometimes individually, sometimes as a group.
A good coach would make it a priority in the next offseason to weed out and let go anyone who hasn’t been fire-breathing, reliable and disciplined as hell. But it’s Bowles…
November 20th, 2022 at 6:13 pm
You pay the man. He’s the best corner on the team. Corners and DE are positions that can change a game pretty dang quick. If the Bucs are building through the draft, here’s their chance.
@Crickett Baker JPP didn’t win the game. Ravens were up 13-3 and JPP was nowhere close to getting to the QB when a D lineman batted the ball and landed in JPP’s lap. JPP isn’t doing anything that would suggest Tampa was wrong on leaving him on the couch.
November 20th, 2022 at 9:29 pm
I think he is probably our best corner at this point. Have to resign him. Even if that means losing edwards smb
November 22nd, 2022 at 2:53 am
CanNOT just let him go… MUST be signed. PERIOD. His ‘trade-value’ will be too (good/high), which will be deeply needed (and very SOON, too), for whenever they decide to BLOW ‘This-Thing’ TH UPPPPPP!!!! Hopefully, sooner rather than later… Bucs-History would suggest that it’ll be too ‘late.’ I hope Brady does NOT return next season (unless for ‘vet-minimum’ or something)… Time to move-on & get ‘this-thing’ on down the road and MOVIN,’ while we still have a plethora of ‘high-end’ assets/trade pieces. Just SUCH A SHAME What Happened To “Barrett” – That-one REALLY Hurttttt.