Several former New York Jets defensive backs seem to be getting their final chances to catch on with rosters ahead of the 2026 season, with the latest being undrafted free agent Trey Dean III.
Dean, who was a member of New York’s practice squad for the 2023 season, is signing a deal with the Green Bay Packers, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
“Dean, the former Florida Gator, won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs and most recently starred in the USFL — where he won another championship,” wrote Schultz in a post on X.
The 26-year-old defensive back joins a Green Bay secondary that needs some depth and finds a chance to carve out a role for himself.
Trey Dean’s Path to the Jets
Before signing with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 NFL Draft, Dean was a fairly decorated collegiate player out of the University of Florida.
He played five seasons, from 2018 to 2022, and was named to the SEC-All Freshman-Team in his first season of college football.
After his career came to an end at the conclusion of the 2022 season, Dean received an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl and set himself apart from the rest by winning Shrine Bowl defensive MVP thanks to an interception.
Ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, Dean was considered a Day 3 pick by some outlets, and Sports Illustrated’s Brandon Carroll thought the Florida standout could even be a fifth-round pick.
“Despite immense struggles throughout his career at Florida, Dean showed vast improvement in the final six games of his fifth year in Gainesville. The lapses in coverage, missed tackles and other mental voids nearly vanished on tape during that stretch, although they will still linger in evaluators’ minds,” wrote Carroll.
“Dean’s calling card will be his ability to operate in multiple roles on the backend. Serving as a versatile asset for an NFL franchise to utilize at any of the five modern defensive back spots (two boundary corners, two safeties, nickel cornerback), he’s a high-upside defensive back piece that will arguably have a better professional career than he did collegiately.”
Rather than being drafted, the Jets scooped up Dean as an undrafted free agent, and despite not making the final 53-man roster at the conclusion of camp, he was brought back onto the practice squad for the 2023 season.
Trey Dean’s NFL Career
At the conclusion of the 2023 season, the New York Jets opted not to retain Dean on a reserve/futures contract, and he became an unrestricted free agent while the 2023 playoffs were ongoing.
Dean caught on quickly with the Kansas City Chiefs, signing with their practice squad just one day before they would take on the Houston Texans in the divisional round.
Kansas City would go on to win Super Bowl LVIII, making Dean a Super Bowl champion as a member of the Chiefs’ practice squad.
He was signed to a reserve/futures contract shortly after the championship win, but was waived during the following summer.
Dean remained unsigned throughout the summer and into the fall before the Cleveland Browns took a chance on the ex-Jets safety in early October.
Despite splitting time with three different NFL practice squads, Dean has yet to play a snap in a regular-season game.
We’ll see if that changes throughout his tenure in Green Bay.
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