Todd Bowles Addresses His Starting Cornerbacks
January 16th, 2025
Jamel Dean
Do the Bucs have a good tandem of starting outside cornerbacks?
Todd Bowles seemed to deliver a simple answer to that question on Tuesday:
If you can get them together and healthy.
“For the most part they played well,” Bowles told the Buccaneers Radio Network when asked about the 2024 seasons of Jamel Deal and Zyon McCollum.
“I think early on, maybe the Denver game, I would say that was not a good ballgame for them. But when they were together, it gives us freedom to play more man [defense] and trying to cover different guys and do a lot of things. Obviously, when they get hurt, then you have to adjust things. You have to change up a little bit.
“But when you get them both healthy at the same time, which is tough to do, obviously, you got two good corners.”
Well, McCollum started all 17 games (thought he left injured a couple of times), so the health issue surrounded Dean, who has become a new fan punching bag. Dean missed five games and left three games early with injuries, including Sunday’s playoff game.
That’s 8 out of 18 games in which Dean was either unavailable or injured.
Do the Bucs want to pay more than $10 million to watch Dean battle to stay out of the doctor’s office next year? That’s a subject for another post, though it is a topic on today’s Ira Kaufman Podcast.
As for the Bucs’ paltry season total of 7 interceptions, Bowles had frustration in his voice, and he didn’t say his starting corners were exempt from criticism.
“Gotta make them happen. You got to go after the plays,” Bowles said. “You got to go after the plays; I thought we were tentative at times. We got to get a lot better going after the football and being hungry for it.”
Ira Kaufman Dives Very Deep On Defensive Issues, Fixes & Successes, Talks Todd Bowles Distortions And Realities, Final Washington Feedback, And More
January 16th, 2025 at 11:24 am
it was bad this year
January 16th, 2025 at 11:24 am
Ur blind Mr.Bowles even at his best Dean cant catch a ball unless it hits him right in the chest. I have watched this Dean drop easy int’s with those big Mickey Mouse gloves. Dean has speed if he can stay on his feet and not fall down, but to me he was a waste of a new contract.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:26 am
It is hard for me to listen to what Bowles says about the Defense. I know he knows it inside and out, but it is a train wreck. Show Me The Baby don’t want to hear about the pain.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:30 am
Dean is soft.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:30 am
7 intercerptions for a whole season that is awful lol
January 16th, 2025 at 11:34 am
Every single Bucs fan that actually watches the games knew Dean was an injury waiting to happen this season. I even told my friend, who took the Bucs over Wash. Because he said Dean and Winfield were back, that I guarantee Dean doesn’t even make it the whole game and whattya know.. McCollum was a nice surprise this year. I had my doubts but he shocked me. Dean should be replaced. Can’t count on the guy. Time to move on
January 16th, 2025 at 11:39 am
i liked the idea ira mentioned of dean as a 3rd corner…
if you add in a top flight corner, maybe our first pick in the draft, with dean as your third, sign a bryce hall, or even a dee delaney…
things could be good…
i hate to throw hayes under the bus, but his coverage skills are clearly not nfl quality – at all…it’s horrendous, and once dean went out he was severely targeted by daniels and failed almost every play…special teams only for hayes moving forward
January 16th, 2025 at 11:40 am
Kind of embarrassing two players had more picks individually than then Bucs had collectively.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:40 am
For the games were both were healthy did we have good pass defense? I don’t recall except maybe a few games where it was better than bad.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:41 am
nobody ever talks dee delaney…
but pause…..and think…
could we really have used dee delaney on the squad this past year…???
the answer is clearly a yes
January 16th, 2025 at 11:41 am
I don’t know how much the Bucs save and we aren’t really in a position to lose DBs but Dean has to be on super thin ice. I think we need to keep him for starter snaps/depth unless the Bucs save 12 million or something by releasing him.
It’s too bad Hall got hurt. We need to sign a man to man CB in FA and draft a CB in the first 3 rounds that is adept at man coverage as well.
Same for Edge and ILB. Likely need 1 of each from FA and 1 of each in top 3 rounds.
I believe the Bucs have the cap for Godwin, David, LG, CB, Edge and ILB. 6 mid to high end free agent targets for most of the loot we have and fill the rest in the draft.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:43 am
The best ability is availability. Dean can’t stay healthy. He’s been paid all his guaranteed money. At $15M, there’s a good chance he’s cut this off season.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:47 am
Dean plays way to soft always 10 yards cushion, can’t catch a cold and needs to go.
Bowels saying he did a pretty good job is like a listening to Biden say the country is a better place than it was four years ago.
Come on man
January 16th, 2025 at 11:49 am
I like Dean for some reason, but I don’t think should be starting.
Zyon McCollum did…so-so.
Really, they are both veterans at this point…replacing them would not be a bad idea. Address the position in the draft, get younger. Bolder.
And then dump them in 2026.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:52 am
SlyPirate… they save 15 million and no penalty? Yeahhh…. I am thinking 15 million buys us a better CB or at least a more available one. Or it’s 15 million can be used on an edge rusher if any are available that are game changers for
January 16th, 2025 at 11:52 am
The Bucs pass defense was in the bottom 4 teams of the NFL two years running.
That tells you everything you need to know.
Either the players are wrong for the scheme or the scheme is wrong for the players. Maybe both.
The coach is there to ameliorate that situation. Clearly he is not capable.
Conclusion: Fire Bowles immediately!
January 16th, 2025 at 11:56 am
Did HC Bowles say our starting corners are good either way a straight face? I think McCollum at least gets a pass because he’s still green. But I’m sorry Dean.. no way and certainly not for 10 mil. Use that money to resign Godwin
January 16th, 2025 at 11:56 am
If they cut Dean is there a cap hit ?
January 16th, 2025 at 11:57 am
I would go after Newsome unlikely is a free agent. then take the best corner available and either the first or second round depending on availability of top edge rushers.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:58 am
I heard that cutting Dean would save us about 8 or 10 million.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:59 am
We gotta add at least 2 more CBs regardless, if we can afford to keep Dean as a luxury we should obviously do so. If not, 15 million goes a long way to retaining Godwin, David, Brederson, Hainsey.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:03 pm
Hoping the Bucs pick a CB in the first round. While Dean is a descent CB, he’s too injured prone, not mention he has the worst hands than any other CB in the league. Doesn’t Dean hold the record with no interceptions per games?
January 16th, 2025 at 12:07 pm
Winfield had ZERO Int’s this year and looked tentative and unwilling when it came to tackling RB’s in the Washington game(look at the tape). Bucs can ill afford to have the highest paid DB in the league not making plays as a pass defender or tackles as a run defender.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:08 pm
Bowles best defensive schemes are when he makes excuses for the crap play against the pass. He’s a defensive genius alright….
January 16th, 2025 at 12:08 pm
Dean needs to go. Nobody questions that..
January 16th, 2025 at 12:09 pm
Dean’s nickname should be “Swarovski” because he’s made out of crystal.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:18 pm
I can accept receivers making highlight catches like McLaurin had in the playoffs because the pass has to be perfect. It’s being 5-10 yards off I have a problem with so I’m not sure why he expects his corners to go after the football when he’s almost always playing soft zone. Bowles talks like a coordinator not a head coach
January 16th, 2025 at 12:21 pm
It’s not just the 7 INTs which are unacceptable to begin with. It’s the fact the WRs were open all over the field. Very few contested catches if any. I’d like to see where we rank in passes defensed as well.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:24 pm
I would rather have 4 or 5 “average” dbs with medium salary/cap number than 2 or 3 guys banking $50,000,000 of the cap and having a bunch of practice squad and over the hill veterans as backups.
Paying Dean and Winfield was clearly a mistake. The Bucs historically have been successful with defensive linemen and pass rushers on the front end and hard tackling linebackers like Brooks, Nicerson and Quarels linebacking.
They have become too much of a so called “cerebral” Professor Todd Bowles defense.
Please pay for dogs on the lines and linebackers and don’t tie up so much money on the backend. I prefer a Tony Dungy-Mike Tomlin led defense than this garbage group we have to watch miss open field tackles by second tier linebackers and corners not names Levonte David.
At least Dungy developed secondary players, remember Barber and Lynch were not drafted until rounds 3 or 4 but Dungy and Kiffin developed them as they were not initially drafted to be starters.
Those guys could tackle. Bowles play off soft zone garbage might work if guys could tackle or ballhawk but none of them can except McCollum and David.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:26 pm
zyon did very well…
he was surrounded by a lot of failure around him…
so considering that, he did very well…
and people sleep on him as a hitter…he is a hard hitting cb when given the right opportunity…the dude hits…
i think if he had a top 5 or 10 secondary around him, he’d have the potential to even be a pro-bowler…
he is very good…i didn’t say great…yet…but he’s very good
January 16th, 2025 at 12:40 pm
Only person exempt from criticism apparently is Bowles himself. Everybody else did wrong but Bowles was perfect.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:40 pm
I remember Dean was quite aggressive early in his career, now he has to be one of the most passive corners in the league. He CAN cover at an NFL starter level, and he tackles fine. But the guy makes no plays on the ball and is hurt half the time. I also think Hall’s week 1 injury was a pretty big deal for what Bowles wanted to do. Gotta bring some new blood in.
All of that said, a wide open middle of the field was the reason the pass defense was so awful. Tykee was a very good rookie, but still he was a rookie. Lavonte has fallen off in coverage but is still passable, and Dennis seemed fine in coverage. Everyone else was a disaster, including the safeties. Winfield has something to prove next year, you can’t be the highest paid safety ever and put that tape on the field, hurt or not.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:43 pm
Dean has got to go
January 16th, 2025 at 12:45 pm
If you are coached soft you will play soft. Dean has more than enough size and speed to be a top ten corner but his inability to stay on the field plus his constant soft coverage will never allow him to be an upper echelon corner. Zyon has all the talent in the world at corner and I expect him to take that even higher next year. Again I look for aggression and swarming on defense. We have none of that and that does not take talent. Ask the lions, who have decimated by injuries. Those guys have bad intentions on D. As the for the entire secondary, we need a healthy Winfield and draft/sign/trade for a solid corner. In the end our secondary is only as good as our pass rush. If you want interceptions you must have an aggressive secondary and a pass rush.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:49 pm
Sadly he’s used up
Just like the NFL QB’s are evolving
CB’s will need to match
Even quicker and twitchier
Redskins WR were wide open standing around waiting for the ball, it seemed like.
The opposite was true with the Redskin CB’s covering our WR’s
January 16th, 2025 at 12:57 pm
I was going today the other day, but my screen updated and deleted my post, so I said hell widdit. But, I think we can save about $8.5MIL (that we can use towards Godwin), by releasing Dean. And, I believe that his remaining contract makes him virtually untradable. I just cannot see ANYONE willing to take THAT on. It’s a shame. But, if that $8,5MIL is true, then I believe that he is as good as gooone.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:03 pm
Broken record excuses.
I’m sure if you go through the archives on this site there is the same type of article with almost a verbatim quote from last year and the year before that and on and on.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:05 pm
as far as interceptions go, it is virtually impossible to get them unless you are close enough to where the ball is going. Playing a soft zone 10+ yards off the receiver almost guarantees you are not getting close enough. Time to look in the mirror regarding the scheme.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:09 pm
Should have kept Davis and trade Dean.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:11 pm
Use EVERY draft pick on defense this year.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:13 pm
They better have a massive improvement in pass defense next season. And they better NOT have another 4 game losing streak…or worse.
Next season we’re on Bowles watch.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:13 pm
Dean was horrible and Hayes shouldn’t even be in the league. Draft Edge, LBs and CBs.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:19 pm
Bingo!
January 16th, 2025 at 1:51 pm
bucnjim Says:
January 16th, 2025 at 12:21 pm
It’s not just the 7 INTs which are unacceptable to begin with. It’s the fact the WRs were open all over the field. Very few contested catches if any. I’d like to see where we rank in passes defensed as well.
————–
24th. Also 27th in interceptions. Also top 10 in QB hurries. Not sure more pass rush is the answer.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:54 pm
#DeanIsLeanButNotMean
#AndVeryOftenNotEvenSeen
#ButAtLeastHesNotAyeDopeFiend
January 16th, 2025 at 1:56 pm
People forget that the top CB backup, Bryce Hall, was put on IR after the first game of the season and there was a major drop off of talent on the depth chart after that because of the salary cap restraints still left over from the Brady wants Brady gets years.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:04 pm
Depth! Behind Zyon and Dean we’ve been forced to play practice squad players and guys off the street.
Dean can and possibly should be replaced if he can’t stay on the field more.
We should try picking up a FA or 2 and spend a draft pick on corner.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:16 pm
It is disturbing that Bowles thinks you need to change the defense whenever a cornerback gets nicked up. You need four good ones on a team, at least. And play them to keep the starters healthy and fresh.
Maybe Zyon should be a safety. He seems okay at corner but he likes to lay down the lumber, too.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:21 pm
Zyon McCollum was underwhelming this year. Seemed like he was frequently beaten for TD’s in many of the same games where he occasionally broke up a pass. Overall picture wasn’t a great one.
Jamel Dean would not be a starting CB on most NFL teams.
Tykee Smith showed a lot of potential. Never can have too many good CB’s. So far we have one.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:22 pm
Dean, Carlton Davis and Winfield were all given HUGE contracts by Licht
None lived up to the contracts
Bowles pass defense is bottom 10, the scheme is just bad, it won’t change unless you change Todd
January 16th, 2025 at 2:30 pm
Dean is too weak to play corner. Mentally weak. I knew he was about to be “hurt” and called it before it happened. Every time Dean starts to get lit by the opposing team, he grabs a hammy and pulls up lame. Weak.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:38 pm
Joe can assure you less pass rush sure as hell ain’t the answer.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:39 pm
I don’t understand all the negativity when it comes to Zyon. I think he is a baller that plays with a physical edge. Easily our best corner.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:57 pm
@flybuc. I agree wholeheartedly! Zion is a baller already. He studies,he’ll only improve. If Dean won’t rake a pay cut and be a 3rd CB,then get rid of him. Surely they’ve their eyes on a young CB already in the league, that needs an opportunity
January 16th, 2025 at 3:23 pm
Zyon can be sticky in coverage. I just wish he’d get his head around more consistently. Numerous examples of him (and Dean ) all over recievers but still giving up completion’s.
Zyon is one of our most willing tacklers tho. We need somebody like him @ safety.
He’s still a work in progress and I expect him to be better next year.
I think we’ve seen Dean’s ceiling and his inability to stay on the field is a big issue.
January 16th, 2025 at 3:31 pm
The best ability a player can have is availability , doesn’t matter how good you can be if you are never there.
January 16th, 2025 at 3:32 pm
Only thing I tag in Dean about is availability. Other than that he’s a dam good man to man corner.
January 16th, 2025 at 3:40 pm
The offensive line is suspect too! Not just the defense.
January 16th, 2025 at 4:30 pm
Whitehead was a waste along with Edwards. They can send them packing.
January 16th, 2025 at 4:45 pm
Soft garbage
January 16th, 2025 at 4:49 pm
Tentative? Obviously he’s talking about himself! In regard to Dean, he needs to be gone. He’s not good enough to sit through another season for ten million dollars. When healthy, Dean playing on a high level. He sure doesn’t present himself as a teammate who seriously wants to win every game. Trade him if you can, or cut him
January 16th, 2025 at 4:52 pm
Tentative? Obviously he’s talking about himself! In regard to Dean, he needs to be gone. He’s not good enough to sit through another season for ten million dollars.
January 16th, 2025 at 4:58 pm
True. Just pointing out we were near top in the league in hurries and sacks. Our pass defense wasn’t bad because of lack of pash rush. It was bad because either due to personnel, scheme, or coaching or all three we couldn’t cover anybody especially in zone.