The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suddenly find themselves in unfamiliar territory, as cornerback might be one of their deepest position groups just a season removed from boasting one of the league’s thinnest cornerback units.
After retooling the position through the draft and free agency, Tampa Bay may now have the flexibility to make a move, especially with teams like the Dolphins desperate for help in the secondary.
The Dolphins’ entire starting secondary from the 2024 season is now gone.
Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Steelers earlier this offseason, and Kendall Fuller was released.
Both safeties—Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer—departed in free agency.
Nickel cornerback Kader Kohou, the team’s lone returning starter from 2024, tore his ACL in training camp this week and will miss the entire season.
Miami has signed veterans like Jack Jones and Mike Hilton, but with one of the league’s weakest secondaries on paper, the Dolphins are likely still in the market for additional reinforcements.
After a major overhaul of their own secondary this offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suddenly find themselves with a surplus of depth—and could benefit from calling Miami to explore a potential trade.
Buccaneers should gauge Dolphins’ trade interest in Jamel Dean
Tampa Bay drafted two cornerbacks on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft: Benjamin Morrison out of Notre Dame and Jacob Parrish out of Kansas State.
While Parrish is expected to start at nickel, he’ll also have a chance to earn snaps outside.
Morrison, meanwhile, is already pushing Jamel Dean for the starting job opposite Zyon McCollum, and has begun taking first-team reps in camp.
Dean, who turns 30 this season, has struggled to stay healthy throughout his NFL career—missing seven regular-season games over the last two years. He also exited both of Tampa Bay’s most recent playoff games due to injury.
When he’s on the field, Dean remains a quality cornerback. The issue is that he’s simply not on the field enough. That lack of availability has become a liability, and played a role in the Bucs’ decision to invest heavily in the position this offseason.
If—and it’s a big if—the Buccaneers feel confident in their revamped depth and trust the rookies to play a major role in 2025, putting Dean on the trade block would make sense.
He’s under contract through 2026 after signing a four-year, $52 million deal in 2023. With two years of team control, Dean could appeal to cornerback-needy teams like the Dolphins.
Tampa Bay received a third-round pick from the Lions last offseason in exchange for Carlton Davis, who ended up being a one-year rental in Detroit before signing a lucrative deal with the Patriots this offseason.
If that deal serves as a blueprint, Jason Licht and the Buccaneers would likely be thrilled to land a third-round pick for an aging, injury-prone corner—even one as talented as Dean.
That said, Tampa Bay could still be reluctant to weaken a position that was one of their biggest vulnerabilities last season.
A rash of injuries and the lack of reliable backups defined the 2024 campaign. Now that the depth has improved, the front office could be hesitant to disrupt that.
But at the right price, nobody’s off-limits. And if the desperate Dolphins are willing to send over a third-rounder in a deal that mirrors the Carlton Davis trade, it’d be tough for Tampa Bay to say no.