High Seas Unease For Jamel Dean?
March 9th, 2025
Man overboard?
Joe is confident there is consensus among Bucs fans that starting cornerback Jamel Dean isn’t worth the $12.5 million he’s slated to earn for the 2025 season.
Not enough picks, not enough health and not enough dawg in his game; but maybe Dean is worth $6 or $8 million?
If the Bucs cut Dean, they’ll save roughly $8.5 million in 2025 salary cap room. They’d also be a lot thinner at corner. Dean can play when he’s healthy, but he’s hurt too often for Joe’s taste.
Might the Bucs be negotiating with Dean on a pay cut before Wednesday’s start of the new league year?
“This Joe” would feel good about Dean coming back at less money and the Bucs also adding quality outside cornerback help.
Per Joe’s research, the Bucs have time. Dean’s 2025 contract is not guaranteed, so he might only score his current full salary by making the opening day roster. (See Michael Clayton’s September 2010 release.)
What intrigues Joe is that Dean is now on a Buccaneers-sponsored cruise in the Caribbean.
The team put its name on a fan-focused frolic on the high seas that ends tomorrow. Fans were promised a long list of player attendees in exchange for their cash. Dean was on the list.
Might Dean get thrown overboard the moment he steps off the boat? That sure would feel a little slimy.
Or are the Bucs waiting for Dean to be immersed in Bucs love and then hit him with a salary slash offer Monday evening?
Joe is very intrigued to see how the Bucs approach Dean’s status. And remember, the answer might not come until late August.
March 9th, 2025 at 11:10 am
Almost any young CB from the combine would be an improvement over Mr. Dean. Cutting his salary won’t make him any better. Dean is a classic case of addition by subtraction.
March 9th, 2025 at 11:27 am
No more slimy than Dean leaving a playoff game because he didn’t want to compete. That’s what it looked like to me, anyway.
March 9th, 2025 at 11:28 am
I like Jamel Dean…as depth. And depth doesn’t get paid what he’s making…but the money side is not something I can control.
And truthfully, I doubt any fan thinks about what he is being paid during the season. They only care that he’s not good enough to be a starter.
Another consideration: if they make him a backup for a bit, he might get healthier in the long run.
But again…price. I doubt he’d want to stay in a backup role at reduced pay without testing the market.
So…I suggest he be released, find out his true market, and then consider things at that point.
I will say…when he makes plays, it sure is nice to watch. When.
March 9th, 2025 at 11:29 am
Or…let him seek a trade. Who knows? Maybe we can get something for him from a desperate team?
March 9th, 2025 at 11:39 am
Did Dean played a little slimy????
March 9th, 2025 at 11:55 am
He walk the plank.
March 9th, 2025 at 12:12 pm
Work out a contract for less money and play him less to preserve his body for the entire year. He would be a great backup. Lay in on schemes that favor his ability
March 9th, 2025 at 12:13 pm
Joe I think you’re right. They’ll try to get him to Reduce (Pat Kirwan “”R” word).
And he’d be worth keeping at a significant reduction, also the caveat about where he is on the depth chart by opening day. Good ideas.
March 9th, 2025 at 12:13 pm
Play him*
March 9th, 2025 at 12:14 pm
Let him seek a trade maybe we can get a sixth round pick if not a seventh. The Jags and Raiders need a DB.
March 9th, 2025 at 12:14 pm
Rewatching the Bucs Seahawks 2019 replay the other day just reminded me how bad Jamel Dean is…
Even the announcer says “Dean does not play like his 4.3 40 time suggest”
The only way you bring him back is to be a depth piece but I think you need to just part ways fully.
March 9th, 2025 at 12:22 pm
Slay.
March 9th, 2025 at 12:26 pm
I’m on the cruise with Dean. All I can say is he’s pretty good at the crap table and he dresses really well…and he seems in great cheer.
I dabble in a bit of magic and had the opportunity to perform some for all the Bucs players…and man, the two most personable down to earth players are 1) Will Gholston and 2) Graham Barton. Actually, all players represent ring the Bucs were awesome.
Good folk.
March 9th, 2025 at 12:27 pm
He’s got to go to make room for other guys in free agency.
March 9th, 2025 at 12:32 pm
Dean is a waste of money. As a fan I want guys that can stay on the field.Dean is made of glass and probably plays 25 percent of each season.
March 9th, 2025 at 12:56 pm
Wow – some much hate for poor J. Dean…
We was the 25th ranked CB in 2024 (PFF).
If the Bucs cut him they will have to replace him and the current DB depth chart is pretty weak.
Do you really believe a CB drafted at pick #19 or #53 playing as a rookie will be any better?
Some of you are smoking too much of the hippy lettuce.
Plus – stop saying cutting Dean will save @ $15M in cap space – that is false. We will still owe him over $8M if he leaves.
March 9th, 2025 at 1:01 pm
Marine Buc
I would say a free agent will be better than Dean. He can’t stay on the field. Ever notice when he gives up a big play he comes up hurt immediately? Ii say that ship has sailed . Time for someone else!
March 9th, 2025 at 1:04 pm
@ #99
“I would say a free agent will be better than Dean.”
OK – Who?
And at what cost?
I’m not thrilled with J. Dean either but cutting him would just create another hole in a defense already filled with holes that need plugged…
March 9th, 2025 at 1:15 pm
I don’t understand some of yall commenters saying drama not good or that he’s trash. Dude has so much talent and is one of the better cover corners in the league. Zone he’s terrible. Only prob with Dean is health. Which is a big problem but to say he’s trash not a starter is uneducated.
March 9th, 2025 at 1:21 pm
Yeah Dean is good while on the field. You have to ask yourself is he available when we need him the most? Especially at that salary. I never said Dean was trash. I think for what we are paying him we could get someone that can stay on the field.
March 9th, 2025 at 1:26 pm
@ #99
“Yeah Dean is good while on the field. You have to ask yourself is he available when we need him the most?”
I hear you bud. But do you really want to talk about injuries?
– Vita Vea
– C. Kancey
– A. Winfield
– S. Dennis
Let’s just cut them all then and start over.
Right?
March 9th, 2025 at 1:41 pm
Dean is soft.
March 9th, 2025 at 1:43 pm
Not trying to argue with you. Winfield and Vea are pro bowlers
Kancey came back from injuries and stayed on the field!
Dennis we will never know because he can’t stay on the field either.
Btw Marine thank you for your service!
March 9th, 2025 at 1:58 pm
@ #99
Thanks buddy.
It’s not an “argument” it called a healthy debate and I always appreciate it.
Everyone has the right to their own opinion and it’s all good.
We are all huge Bucs fans here.
So no worries at all.
March 9th, 2025 at 2:01 pm
@Tbbucs3 – “Rewatching 2019 replay vs Seahawks….”
Really? In 2025 you’re watching THAT game? So rewind. Dean got the start – his first EVER – as a rookie – when Carlton Davis got injured – in warm ups. Yeah he got torched. Went on to become a solid CB and earn a second contract. The guy has talent.
I get it, you want him gone. Just don’t make up crap to justify it.
March 9th, 2025 at 2:01 pm
@ #99
If the Bucs already had a replacement for Dean on the roster I would be OK with trading or cutting him but we don’t.
Last season we traded C. Davis because we had Dean and ZM.
We currently don’t have anyone to step in and the FA CB market is very slim.
That is why I think we should just bite the bullet and keep Dean for one more season.
March 9th, 2025 at 2:16 pm
Im actually hoping that we sign Chavarius Ward He has been very solid. He had a down season , but very understandable with his daughter passing away. I think a change of scenery will do him well
March 9th, 2025 at 2:33 pm
@ #99
I saw that article on Pew Rep as well.
I would rather just keep Dean.
Ward was the 148th ranked CB with a 56.2 grade.
There is no guarantee that he will return to his previous form at age 29.
Plus – J. Dean is very familiar with TB’s defensive schemes and Ward will have to learn it.
March 9th, 2025 at 2:52 pm
FrontFour
It was on the NFL Network the other day, naturally I watched…the reason It makes sense to bring up is because he has made little to no development since then….he looked soft and slow then, and he looks soft and slow now.
Also, were bringing up meaningless PFF grades when I at least assumed most Bucs fans agreed Dean was awful last season? Didnt realize we had a Jamel Dean mob forming.
March 9th, 2025 at 2:54 pm
Marine Buc: You might be right, but Bowles said at the Combine that he wants “ball hawks”, we know Dean is the antithesis of that.
March 9th, 2025 at 3:09 pm
Dean may not be a “Ball Hawk” but he batts down a lot of passes that would have been completions.
March 9th, 2025 at 3:26 pm
@ Joe in Mich
True.
However – TB was not just talking about DBs.
Let’s take a look at his entire “ballhawk” statement:
“For me, I want ballhawks,” Bowles told reporters. “And whether that’s a down guy or a defensive lineman, whether he bats balls down or gets strip sacks, whether that’s an outside linebacker that does it, whether that’s a [linebackers], whether that’s a safety that can hit and draw the ball loose or get turnovers, whether that’s a corner that has a nose for the ball, we need ballhawks. We need turnovers.”
TB wants more turnovers and so does every other defense in the NFL.
However – this statement was not just about his current CBs…
All I am saying is – We currently don’t have anyone to step in and the FA CB market is very slim and I don’t trust a rookie to come in and perform as well as Dean.
50% of 1st round picks are busts.
That is why I think we should just bite the bullet and keep Dean for one more season.
March 9th, 2025 at 3:29 pm
@ Joe in Mich
That being said – I still think the Bucs should draft another CB in rounds 1-3…
March 9th, 2025 at 4:38 pm
Tbbucs3
Saying Dean hasn’t developed since his first game rookie year is just dumb.
Dean is a talented guy. He’s underperformed recently, especially in 2024. But when he went down with an injury Detroit in the 2023 playoffs and was replaced by McCallum – that was the game. Goff passed for the winning TD burning McCallum.
Keeping him for the right price makes the most sense.
March 9th, 2025 at 4:53 pm
I watch him closely and he runs with vertical WR well, he just doesn’t turn his head or have good ball awareness. Doesn’t look limber and any time he goes to the turf he gets hurt. I would say he hasn’t worked his body to be more flexible and get his hips in good shape. Not impressed with his athleticism. Davis was way better at playing the ball and shadowing receivers but he also got hurt too frequently
March 9th, 2025 at 5:22 pm
For almost half the salary, 100% I would bring him back.
March 9th, 2025 at 5:40 pm
In hindsight, should’ve kept Davis over Dean….Davis usually only got burnt by undersized speedsters but did a good job of keeping taller WRs in check….Dean on the other hand gets burnt by everyone.
Go back and watch the Commanders game, folks…is that really what you want to see on this team again? “Knowing the defense” means nothing if you cant stop anyone.
March 9th, 2025 at 5:42 pm
Also former pro bowl corner and Buccaneer loaf, Tim Jennings was tweeting during the playoff game about how Jamel Dean is “not good”…Ill take his word over the PFF nerds.
March 9th, 2025 at 6:01 pm
My thoughts>
Davis was no better or worse than Dean.
Davis missed more games than Dean.
Agree with Marine Buc. Keep Dean as he is currently our best option.
Develop another corner.
The only corner on the free agent market that I would consider is Paulson Adebo . I think he fits what Bowles wants in a corner and probably could be had at a reasonable price.
March 9th, 2025 at 6:05 pm
You guys turn this into drama, and it’s just not needed.
Yes this man gets paid big dollars and yes he’s hurt a lot and yes it’s a huge gamble going all in on this man.
Timing may not be suitable for another season.
Not being able to give his 100% though is a stretch and it’s a shame it has to come to this just to get results.
I just don’t think that’s fair to this man. He’s done his thing for us as a CB and I think trading him on draft day is the best way to approach it. He’s not a bad CB at all, I don’t see a listed ACL injury he had a knee sprain at one point in time and there isn’t any data suggesting he has one right now or will have one. For trade to go through a physical must be passed. Giving up I doubt that if he was giving up he wouldn’t have been ranked the top 50% of CBs in the NFL last year.
March 9th, 2025 at 6:06 pm
I wanted Paulson Adebo CB before he became a FA.
I wanted him out of the draft. I’m not sure why Saints aren’t keeping him.
March 9th, 2025 at 6:07 pm
Dean gets burnt by everyone yeah okay. Lmao nice try guy.
March 9th, 2025 at 6:13 pm
Marine Buc is right on multiple occasions here.
1. Bowles does want more from his defense and looks to rebuild that defense back up.
2. Bowles knows it’s CB & OLB that’s going to be needed desperately and interceptions come off pressures and sacks initiates data that suggests bad throws and easy interception’s or deflections.
3. Those DBs & OLBs are going hand and hand with each other. Releasing Dean & going after ward is a bit extreme though. Kinda disrespectful but also not helpful I mean unless that’s how we keep Chris Godwin.
March 9th, 2025 at 6:17 pm
FrontFour … ‘Dean is a talented guy. He’s underperformed recently, especially in 2024.’
Hit the nail on the head FrontFour. Jamel had the worst year of his 6-year career in 2024 in terms of Completion Percentage Allowed … 69.7%. That’s over 10% higher than his 58.7% career average.
I kept thinking that he looked slow in games, but kept giving him a pass because I felt that he was playing hurt (hey he did miss 5 games, mostly because of hamstring issues I believe). Plus he wasn’t being used IAW his strengths (he’s mostly man-to-man from what we’ve seen in years past).
That all being said, if Jamel has ‘lost a couple steps’ we probably need to replace him. But if he’s still got decent speed (he was a 4.30 at 1 point), I’d keep him. He’s actually a very good tackler (less than a 5% Missed Tackle Rate average over his career) and knows Bowles’ defensive scheme very well.
March 9th, 2025 at 6:31 pm
“ I just don’t think that’s fair to this man”
Its a business, the sentimental stuff shouldnt matter, Dean seems like a good culture guy for the Bucs, but the on field results are simply not good enough to justify throwing him back out there another year.
Theres a reason NFL coaches are not afraid to go after him, more often than not he’s is a liability out there