BSPN Says Best Fit For Jamel Dean Is…
February 22nd, 2023
Grim prediction.
Joe has a very bad feeling that in three weeks he’s going to puke. Especially if this comes true.
The Joe typing here has been clear: Do what it takes to match any offer Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean gets in free agency. Yes, that means if it comes down to Joe’s favorite linebacker since Derrick Brooks walking, Lavonte David, so be it.
Joe would much rather keep a rising corner who is 26 than a 33-year-old linebacker in the sunset of his career.
Top-shelf corners are hard to find. How long did the Bucs try and always swung and missed in the Lost Decade? They finally got it right with Carlton Davis and Dean.
(If, as Joe fears, the Bucs won’t have much of a pass rush in 2023, watching a substandard corner try to replace Dean ought to be a real trip.)
So here is where Joe has a bad feeling about yakking on his keyboard. BSPN X’s and O’s guy Matt Bowen, looking at his top-50 free agent list, is trying to find the best landing spot for each player.
For Dean, Bowen envisions him signing with the Dixie Chicks.
A 26-year-old defender who plays a premium position, Dean will have multiple options on the market. The Titans are a potential landing spot, too, but I like the idea of pairing him with A.J. Terrell in Atlanta to give the Falcons two corners with press-man ability and backfield vision in zone looks. Dean is long at 6-foot-1, can disrupt throwing windows and creates on-the-ball production. He had double-digit pass breakups in each of his first three pro seasons, with two interceptions last year.
This would be a sad day in Bucs history. Not quite as bad as letting Michael Bennett walk away for no good reason. At least this time the Bucs can blame the salary cap.
That excuse didn’t fly with Bennett.
Joe’s going to write it right here and now: If Dean leaves, free agency is an “L” for the Bucs. That’s all there is to it.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:03 am
If he is so good as you say, why was he not starting on the playoff wildcard against Dallas?
Something doesn’t compute: either he is not that good (SMB started over him and we know what SMB is…) OR the Bucs coaching staff has some beef with him
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:49 am
RuKa,
I believe Dean had a big toe injury. Broken not turf toe according to reports.
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:11 am
Can’t sign him and SMB. They sign the cheaper of the two.
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:10 am
According to Spotrac, Dean’s Market Value is $16.5 mil. Yes we could backload that using some creative salary CAP management, but that’d potentially screw up next year when we have Wirfs, Winfield (and maybe White?) to re-sign. And we all know we’ll be starting from a deficit position again next year, so we’ll have created a real conundrum for 2024.
I love Jamel Dean & would love to keep him, but the NFL is a business & he’ll sign for his Market Value (or higher). For that same $16.5 mil we can (probably) re-sign SMB, plus Edwards, plus 1 other defender like maybe Gholston? Given that we’ve got massive holes at CB, S & DL, that seems like the better big-picture option to me.
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:18 am
If this is the Joe that wants to collapse/quit/bend over the dresser in 2023, why would the Bucs need Dean back?
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:25 am
I like the guy…but he is not worth a bidding war. Lvd will be looking his age this year. Just like brooks.
The whole defense falls apart imo given they will have no hope to win.
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:40 am
DR – as a first round pick, the bucs can (and will) pick up Wirfs’ option for a 5th year before having to likely reset the RT market for his extension.
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:41 am
We keep him. He’s Bowles’ pet project. As Rachaad White would say, “He ain’t dunns gun ago nowarez.”
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:58 am
It takes YEARS of failed picks to give a good corner
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:02 am
Todd … I’d much rather have Dean than Davis to build around, but that ship sailed last year when we gave Carlton his new contract. There is an out after this year though which isn’t too bad (his 2024 CAP hit is $14.5 mil but his Dead CAP is only $3.3 mil). Maybe that’s what the Bucs should look at. Bite the bullet this year then ‘readjust’ next year.
Leighroy … I agree that we will pick up Wirfs 5th year option, but there’s a better way to handle that IMO. Sign him to a long-term contract (he’s a building-block player IMO). The 5th-year option for him would be expensive, and we can’t slide any of that to future years because he wouldn’t be under contract for anything past 2024.
That’s the same conundrum that we’re in with White. His contract for this year is $11.7 mil and we’re having to eat all of it this year. No way to lessen that UNLESS we give him a new contract. We painted ourselves into another corner.
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:07 am
BTW, re-signing experienced key players to their 2nd contract is a key reason IMO to draft a OLineman, DLineman & CB high EVERY YEAR. My preference is in the Top-4 Rnds, and HOPE that you hit on every one of them. I know, fat chance.
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:16 am
Dean is a gifted athlete who improved every year, but he said at the beginning of the year it was for the money…. Does that mean he will go soft once he gets the bag like many before him? I’m not sure.
On the other hand, he has a very close relationship with Todd Bowles… so maybe he’ll stay on a hometown discount and continue to play well for him.
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:28 am
At least we’ll get a good comp pick for him that rarely happens for bucs
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:31 am
Any player that can get out of town via FA is going to jump through that door.
Run Buc favorites run
Trade VV , ME ,CG and any player bringing fair value.
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:41 am
We will see what happens in the next few weeks. Then we can all really get into the mock draft debates. For me right now at CB I like Emmanuel Forbes as an earlier pick and Riley Moss as a later pick. There is also Brian Branch who would be huge for the Bucs as he played all over the secondary for Alabama.
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:54 am
If Dean leaves, we need to go after a Joey Porter Jr. or Julius Brents outta K-State in the draft with both being the long/rangy CBs Bowles prefers. Brents is a really interesting prospect because usually guys his size aren’t playing with the physicality he has put on tape & his length naturally makes him a potential 50-50 ball neutralizer.
I’m a fan of keeping Dean and if we weren’t in the cap situation we are in I’d say re-sign him w/o blinking, but if there were ever a draft to find his replacement, 2023 is it. As of right now we have Davis, McCollum, Anthony Chesley, & Duron Lowe on the CB depth chart. Meaning, we’ll have to potentially resign/replace SMB, Dean, & Dee Delaney. That’s without worrying about how to replace/resign Ryan, Neal, & Edwards.
February 22nd, 2023 at 8:18 am
How about signing him to an average CB contract with a HUGEEEEEEE incentive bonus for each interception (not pass break up) and another bonus for pick-6s.
February 22nd, 2023 at 8:25 am
Dean is an excellent player, but not elite- the Bucs can’t afford to spend $15 million + long term on a good player with this cap situation.
February 22nd, 2023 at 8:30 am
A Look at How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Are Spending Their 2023 Cap Dollars on Offense and Defense
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offense (2023)
Cap Dollars: $174,299,501
Percentage of 2023 Adjusted Cap: 76.61% (Highest in the NFL)
Number of Player Contracts: 25
Note: Even without Brady’s contract, the team still ranks 5th in the league. The league average is $107.5M.
The loss of Ryan Jensen, following his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2021, dealt a major blow to the offensive line, severely hampering their running game due to the significant loss of his leadership and toughness. Moreover, with the retirement of Ali Marpet, the team’s interior push on the offensive line was completely absent, resulting in a woeful performance on both traps and sweeps.
It’s no wonder that this was the primary culprit behind the rushing offense’s dismal finish, as they ranked dead last, at 32nd in the league for the year.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense (2023)
Cap Dollars: $97,658,659
Percentage of 2023 Adjusted Cap: 42.89% (15th in the NFL)
Number of Player Contracts: 19
It’s time to focus on building a more balanced attack that plays to our strengths on defense under Bowles’ expert guidance. This requires making strategic moves to optimize our offensive lineup while maintaining our already successful defense.
February 22nd, 2023 at 8:44 am
Joe in Michigan, exactly right. The coherent, non-collapse Joe must have written this particular post.
February 22nd, 2023 at 8:48 am
DR there is a way to lessen White’s cap hit — trade him. He’s not the player the Bucs thought he could be and they can’t afford him.
As for your draft philosophy, I’ve always said you should draft a lineman (O or D) in the first two rounds every year. After all, that’s 9 of your 22 starters. I agree with your idea of throwing CB in the mix as this has been such a pass happy league.
What do they have in common? Few players in these positions are ready to go coming out of college on day 1. It takes time to develop all of those positions. Just another reason to draft these positions early.
February 22nd, 2023 at 9:21 am
Anybody that doesn’t think Dean is an excellent CB doesn’t have an opinion worth hearing. The dude is tremendous. No doubt a top 10 CB in the league and the best on our team. If you think otherwise, your take on football horrible. You were probably also on the Paris Warren to the Hall of Fame group, the Start Tim Rattay morons, and Sean Glennon is the next big thing idiots.
February 22nd, 2023 at 11:01 am
Bucs Guy … ‘There is a way to lessen White’s cap hit — trade him. He’s not the player the Bucs thought he could be and they can’t afford him.’
There’s no question in my mind that he’s not worth the $20 mil many think he’ll be asking. He’s shown flashes of being an elite athlete, on occasion, but quite the opposite at other times. Even if he’d had a great 2022, he still wouldn’t be worth $20 mil IMO.
When you look at what teams have to pay nowadays for a franchise QB, for 1 or 2 top WRs, for a couple of top OLinemen & DLinemen, and for a shutdown corner or 2, it’s just hard to justify paying $20 mil for an ILB. There’s just no way to ‘balance the budget’ when so many key players on a team are making big bucks like that. And mortgaging the future only works for so long, and then the bill comes due.
The problem comes in when one of those highly-paid stars goes down & you have inadequate DEPTH to replace them with (but you still have to pay them on IR). DEPTH is what suffers when too many big $$$ salaries are paid, and what opponents take advantage of real fast. The lions are masters at finding the weakest gazelle who can’t keep up with the herd.
I’d like to see Devin stay a Buc for a reasonable amount, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Neither do the Bucs more than likely, and that’s probably why they picked up his $11 mil 5th year option.
February 22nd, 2023 at 11:14 am
LUVMYBUCS … ‘It’s time to focus on building a more balanced attack that plays to our strengths on defense under Bowles’ expert guidance.’
Fabulous analysis. I got slightly different numbers (27 offense; 18 defense) but that’s nit-pickin. Plus those numbers will change substantially once ‘cost-cutting’ starts.
Your point about focusing on developing more of a ‘balanced attack’ is spot on IMO, mostly because we have no choice. Tom Brady has jumped ship, and whoever replaces him will NEED a strong running game to complement a passing attack to have any chance of succeeding. Since we have so many FAs on defense, I’m not at all sure what our strengths on defense are any more, but we’ll find out soon enough.
February 22nd, 2023 at 12:12 pm
Trade Davis and keep Dean. Davis is glass.
February 22nd, 2023 at 12:15 pm
In my opinion Dean needs to play on a team that plays on natural grass. His legs cannot take the beating on artificial turf. He will not last long if he plays on turf.
February 22nd, 2023 at 12:16 pm
Joey Porter Jr looks overhyped
February 22nd, 2023 at 12:44 pm
@Ben Harvey not a bad idea, if we can trade Davis he saves us a big chunk of cap space but Dean would just eat up the same amount if not more
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:00 pm
This should be a lesson that JL learned from.
Drafting 2-3 corners in the same draft creates a big financial problem if you hit on at least 2 of them and they become very good.
Gotta pay up big time.
I didn’t have a problem with the cast a wide net approach at the time, but now I see that it wasn’t a good idea.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:31 pm
Unless the team can get a pass rusher for equal $$$, they need Dean back.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:53 pm
Franchise tag plain and simple. No need for further discussion
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:37 pm
I would trade D White and keep LVD and dean.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:13 pm
Count me in on trading White (or letting him walk after his 5th year). Kid has heart and speed, but way too much of a liability in the passing game.
Would love to keep Dean, but it just might not be in the cards for us, sadly. He’s much better than SMB though. Much much better.
I’ve said this since his very first start at Seattle years ago.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:14 pm
In fact most ppl on this site were chitting all over him after that game, but I saw the talent and instincts. You can’t teach instincts.
Same with speed. And height. He has all of them.
February 22nd, 2023 at 10:52 pm
Consistently good teams let guys get overpaid by other teams and accumulate compensatory picks. Dean is a stud but if we’re out of his price range then we’ll be rewarded in next year’s draft
February 23rd, 2023 at 3:35 pm
Lots of good corners around end of first round this year, looks like. It took Dean three years to beat out Murphy-Bunting, and he gets banged up.