{"id":67662,"date":"2025-05-21T13:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/67662\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T13:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:44:09","slug":"after-6-seasons-in-tampa-bay-does-jamel-dean-have-a-future-with-the-buccaneers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/67662\/","title":{"rendered":"After 6 seasons in Tampa Bay, does Jamel Dean have a future with the Buccaneers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019 draft in April raised questions about cornerback Jamel Dean<\/a>\u2018s future with the NFL team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he catches the balls that he drops, we wouldn\u2019t even be talking about this,\u201d Tampa Bay cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross said<\/a> about Dean last week. \u201cHe\u2019s got to catch the ball, he\u2019s got to stay healthy, and he\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

But those things haven\u2019t happened the past two years, and the Buccaneers used their second-round pick on Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison and their third-round pick on Kansas State cornerback Jacob Parrish in the NFL Draft on April 25.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t surprising. At the league meetings in March, Tampa Bay general manager Todd Licht said<\/a>, \u201cWe could use some help there\u201d when asked about cornerback, and Bucs coach Todd Bowles said<\/a> about the position, \u201cWe don\u2019t have a lot of depth, and we hope to address that at some point in the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

Licht also said<\/a> Dean \u201cwas a really good player not too long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was when Tampa Bay signed him to a four-year, $52 million contract extension<\/a> in 2023 rather than allow him to become a free agent after he\u2019d reached the end of the four-year, $3.559 million contract signed as a third-round draft pick from Auburn<\/a> in 2019.<\/p>\n

At that point in Dean\u2019s career, opposing quarterbacks had a 73.6 passing-efficiency rating when throwing against him in 57 regular-season games. Dean also had played in seven playoff games and started all four postseason games as Tampa Bay capped the 2020 season with a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.<\/p>\n

In his first four seasons, Dean had seven interceptions and 41 passes defended. Since signing the contract extension, Dean has one interception and 11 passes defended. The passing-efficiency rating when throwing against Dean was 100.27 in the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

Dean missed four games in 2023 and five games in 2024 with injuries. He played 63.2 percent of Tampa Bay\u2019s defensive snaps in 2023 and 62.4 percent in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cDean\u2019s got to get healthy,\u201d Bowles said<\/a> in March. \u201cHe comes in and he plays. He can\u2019t play half a year every couple of years, and he understands he\u2019s got to get healthy. He\u2019s doing everything he can to be healthy, but we\u2019ve got to have some depth there just in case. If somebody comes in and competes with him, he\u2019s going to have to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross said<\/a> when NFL teams draft cornerbacks as early as the Buccaneers did this year, \u201cyou expect them to play, you expect them to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where does that leave Dean, who has no guaranteed money remaining in his contract, for the 2025 season?<\/p>\n

\u201cJamel Dean, he\u2019s going to be OK,\u201d Ross said<\/a>. \u201cI was in that situation (as a player) in Kansas City. We drafted a first-round corner, Dale Carter. We brung in James Hasty from the Jets. That\u2019s the nature of this business. You\u2019re trying to upgrade. You\u2019re trying to keep your team up, ready for the season and everything, so he\u2019ll be ready. Everybody\u2019ll be ready. It\u2019s good for the backfield.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Dean has to stay on the field to compete.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvailability is the No. 1 thing,\u201d Ross said<\/a>. \u201cKnock on wood, I hope he\u2019s healthy the whole year. But unfortunately, he hasn\u2019t been. We haven\u2019t played with the same secondary since God knows when here. It\u2019s good to have these other guys come in and contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

FOR MORE OF AL.COM\u2019S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1<\/a>.<\/p>\n