As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chart a course for the offseason, part of the plan will be deciding on whether or not to make some tough decisions on the future of certain players. The Bucs head into the new league year with a projected $23.8 million in cap space but that's before allocating parts of that for the upcoming draft class and re-signing free agents.
When all is said and done, the Bucs won't have a ton of money to spend on free agents to improve the roster, which isn't a shock but creates a bit of an obstacle for the front office. It was abundantly clear last season that Tampa Bay needs to fix some glarring holes, specifically when it comes to upgrading the pass rush.
It's not just new players the Bucs need to be thinking about creating cap space for. After filling its vacant offensive coordinator role, Tampa Bay's next biggest priority is finding a way to re-sign Chris Godwin. Mike Greenberg returning means the team still has its salary cap wizard to make magic happen, but it will still require some tough adjustments to make it all fit.
Jamel Dean could be 'in danger' of being released this offseason
ESPN's Bill Barnwell looked at a few teams and their cap situation this offseason, and noted that Jamel Dean could end up being a casualty of Tampa Bay trying to move some money around.
"The Bucs have six players with cap holds over $5 million on their 2025 roster. The only one in danger of being released is Dean, though that's more a product of injuries than subpar play," Barnwell writes. "He is a solid corner in a defense with a blitz rate that puts its corners in difficult situations on a regular basis, which will play in his favor, but the 28-year-old's $13 million compensation is unguaranteed. The Bucs might try to play hardball and ask him to take a pay cut to return."
This hardly comes as a surprise, as Dean always seemed like the easiest cut to make when looking at ways the Bucs might be able to create space for other additions. If Dean is moved, one way or another, it would also serve as a wiping-the-slate-clean moment, with Tampa Bay moving its top two corners in back-to-back offseasons.
Last year in March the Bucs traded Carlton Davis III to the Detroit Lions for a draft pick that ended up becoming Jalen McMillan. Dean could fetch a decent trade return, as he's not far off from where Davis was in terms of production when he was traded .
Both players dealt with injuries in their final seasons in Tampa Bay but neither of them are incapable of performing well when everything is going right. For as much as it seemed Dean was on the wrong end of a big play, he finsihed the year with a 74.5 PFF rating which is exactly what Davis had back in 2023.
Tampa Bay doesn't have to move off Dean, which is the best part about this situation. Trading or releasing him would save money for another move -- which seems likely this offseason -- but if all else fails the Bucs would be fine running things back and seeing if a motivated Dean can truly get back to the level he was at a few years ago.
If the difference between keeping Godwin and losing him is Dean, then the decision is an easy one. Even if that's not a major factor, the emergence of a young cornerback group -- one that will likely be added to in the NFL Draft -- could push Dean off the roster and save the Bucs some money.
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