Buccaneers’ $52 Million Cornerback Could Be on Hot Seat

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had plenty of heroes during their surprise run to the 2023 NFC South Division title and a playoff run that included beating the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card round.

One person who wasn’t a hero during that run? Highly-paid cornerback Jamel Dean, who signed a 4-year, $52 million contract in March 2023.

The Pewter Report’s Matt Matera pointed out that the writing appears to be on the wall for Dean following a dropped interception in the end zone against the Detroit Lions in a 31-24 NFC Divisional Round loss and 29 consecutive games without an interception.

Dean also missed five games due to injury in 2023.

“In addition to trying to stay healthy, Dean must become more of a ballhawk to justify his paycheck. He just isn’t getting his hands on the football enough, and when he does, he’s dropping would-be interceptions,” Matera wrote. “Look no further than a huge missed opportunity in Tampa Bay’s 31-24 playoff loss at Detroit when Dean dropped an easy interception in the end zone. The Lions would kick a field goal to go up 3-0 on the next play.”

‘All He Has To Do Is Catch The Ball’

Dean played a career-low 12 games in 2023 and it was his first season since he was drafted out of Auburn in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft that he went an entire season without an interception.

That’s not for lack of trying.

When asked during OTAs what Dean needs to do better in 2024, Tampa Bay cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross said, bluntly: “Catch the ball.”

“If he (makes interceptions) he’s an All-Pro, he’s a Pro Bowler,” Ross said. “All he has to do is catch the ball. We’ve been emphasizing that in that room. And it really starts with me. I’ve got to increase more ball drills with those guys, I’ve requested these guys to catch 50 balls a day during this training camp right here. We’ll see, we’ve got to catch the ball. We could’ve led the league last year in takeaways had we caught the ball the way we needed to.”

Recent history shows the Buccaneers might not have much patience with Dean moving forward. They traded away the starting cornerback on the other side from Dean, Carlton Davis III, sending him to the Detroit Lions along with two sixth-round picks in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick the Buccaneers used on Washington wide receiver Jalen McMillan.

Davis was another corner the Buccaneers dropped the bag on in recent years, signing him to a 3-year, $45 million contract in March 2022.

Dean Will Have 2024 to Prove Himself to Bucs

Whatever happens, Dean will have 2024 to show he deserves to stay in Tampa Bay, which in all likelihood needs to include some interceptions if he wants to keep his job.

The Buccaneers only drafted one defensive back in the 2024 NFL draft, but he’s a safety — Georgia’s Tykee Smith was selected in the third round (No. 89 overall).

According to PFF, Dean graded out at 68.3 percent in 2023. The Top 20 highest-graded defensive backs in the league all graded out above 77 percent, and the Top 10 all graded out above 82 percent.

Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame