Just like any business, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look at their books they evaluate what they’re paying someone vs. what they’re getting in return.
In some cases, that’s a value unlike any in the NFL. Pro Bowl quarterback Baker Mayfield makes approximately $33 million per year and routinely outplays quarterbacks making $10 million to $20 million more than him.
In other cases, the Buccaneers are taking a bath and need to start looking for a way out. Nowhere on the roster is that more pronounced than with veteran cornerback Jamel Dean and the 4-year, $52 million contract extension he signed in March 2023.
Things have gotten bad enough for Dean that Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay put him on a list of the NFL’s highest profile players who could be cut before the season begins.
“If the Bucs want to free up more than the $30 million in cap room they currently have available, cutting Dean would provide $12.9 million in immediate financial relief while only incurring $2.3 million in dead money,” Kay wrote on June 24. ” … his contract is quite weighty given his history of injury (he missed a career-high five games last year) and regression in skill.”
Buccaneers Drafted Consecutive CBs in 2025
Perhaps the 2 most pressing needs on the entire Tampa Bay roster following a 10-7 regular season record and NFC Wild Card Round exit in 2024 were at cornerback and edge rusher.
The Buccaneers went out and addressed their needs at edge rusher by signing 2-time Pro Bowler Haason Reddick to a 1-year, $14 million contract — Reddick’s fifth team in 6 years — and drafting Central Arkansas’ David Walker in the fourth round (No. 121 overall).
Their response to the struggles at cornerback was even more pronounced. Tampa Bay drafted cornerbacks with consecutive picks in the second round (No. 53 overall) with Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison and third round (No. 84 overall) with Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish.
While the more rational thing to do might have been to take one of those positions in the first round — they picked Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka at No. 19 overall — both Morrison and Parrish are clearly being looked at as long term solutions at cornerback. If Dean can’t at least play well enough in training camp to garner something back in a trade and Morrison and Parrish seem up to the task, then the writing might be on the wall.
Landing on NFL List of ‘Most Overpaid Players’
Dean and his contract have been in the crosshairs most of the last 2 seasons — essentially ever since he signed his contract extension. Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put Dean on his list of the “NFL’s Most Overpaid Players” following the start of the NFL free agency cycle in March.
“The six-year veteran was frequently burned in coverage in 2023 and was not a No. 1-caliber corner last year,” Gagnon wrote. “He isn’t much of a playmaker, either (three interceptions total in the last three seasons), and he’s simply not living up to a four-year, $52 million contract.”
Dean, 28 years old, is scheduled to make a base salary of $12.5 million in 2025 and $13 million in 2025.
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