Before the 2024 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled off a trade involving one of their highly-paid cornerbacks when they sent Carlton Davis III to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a third round draft pick.
You can make an argument the Buccaneers got the best of that trade after Davis finished the season on the injured reserve and Tampa Bay turned that pick into wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who looks like he could be a star after a late-season surge.
The Buccaneers could make a similar deal this offseason with veteran cornerback Jamel Dean, who Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine thinks could be an attractive trade option for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Jamel Dean is a veteran cornerback who is still playing at a high level,” Ballentine wrote. “The Bucs would only want to trade him away for cap reasons, but he would be a great pairing with Joey Porter Jr. who still could use a veteran mentor as he works to clean up his game.”
Dean, 6-foot-1 and 206 pounds, has been with the Buccaneers since they selected him out of Auburn in the second round (No. 63 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft, including a Super Bowl win following the 2020 season. Dean has 2 seasons left on the 4-year, $52 million contract extension he signed in March 2023.
Decision on Godwin Could Impact Dean’s Future
If anything, Dean is likely to be a salary cap casualty if the Buccaneers can’t find a trade partner. He might avoid that fate if the Buccaneers decide to let wide receiver Chris Godwin go in free agency, but if they decide they want to try and keep Godwin then Dean can probably start calling moving companies.
Bleacher Report put Godwin on its list of possible salary cap casualties for the Buccaneers following the regular season.
From Bleacher Report: “The Bucs would create $8.4 million in cap space if they parted ways with Dean. For a team that’s going to have limited options to create cap space, that could be tempting. Chris Godwin is among the team’s pending free agents, so it could be a priority to carve out space for his extension. Dean started 12 games this season and only registered seven passes defended while giving up a passer rating of 91.2 when targeted.”
Dean Has Spent Entire Career in Tampa Bay
Dean has been with the Buccaneers since they drafted him in the third round (No. 94 overall) of the 2019 NFL draft out of Auburn and was a key figure on the defense in the team’s run to winning Super Bowl LV. That season, Dean had a career-high 62 tackles and became one of just 3 players in NFL history to return an interception for a touchdown against quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Not everyone was optimistic about Dean’s prospects headed into the 2024 season — Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon singled out Dean and his $52 million contract on his list of the most overpaid players in the NFL.
That came after a down year in 2023 for Dean, who suffered through his first NFL season without an interception and allowed a career-high 42 receptions on 61 targets, according to PFF’s advanced stats.
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