The two most high profile losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason were inside linebacker Lavonte David and wide receiver Mike Evans, and both stars will, Bucs fans hope, find themselves enshrined in Canton, Ohio in a few years time. Evans is one of the best receivers of his generation and easily the greatest wideout in Tampa Bay history, while David was an elite three down linebacker who could make sacks, bump the run, shut down shop in coverage, and lead any team to glory.
But if you look at which departing Buccaneers player had the biggest impact on the team last season, then the answer might be Jamel Dean. The cornerback had a career year in a contract season, and though he is nearing the end of his peak as an NFL corner at the age of 29, Dean has been getting better and better by year and was an ideal shutdown corner for the Bucs defense in 2025.
The Buccaneers, however, decided not to retain their top CB this offseason, and he signed a reasonable deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers to boost a defense that badly needed a shutdown corner to help support Aaron Rodgers's margin for error on the other side of the football.
The Buccaneers lost a big defensive star
According to ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell, the worst decision of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2026 offseason was not keeping either Mike Evans or Jamel Dean, and while Barnwell puts both players on equal footing, he actually spent more time talking about the impact left behind by Dean's departure to Pittsburgh.
Barnwell wrote, "Dean posted a 63.1 passer rating in coverage in 2025 while missing just 2.1% of his tackle attempts. The veteran corner should have been a Pro Bowler ahead of alternate selections Nahshon Wright and Keisean Nixon in the NFC. Even worse, neither player signed an exorbitant deal in leaving Tampa Bay. Evans' contract with the 49ers is really a one-year pact for $14.3 million. Dean joined the Steelers, who don't guarantee multiple years for players who aren't future Hall of Famers, meaning his three-year, $36.8 million deal looks more like a one-year, $13.5 million contract."
The Buccaneers have some pieces at cornerback like new rookie Keionte Scott and Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish, and Zyon McCollum. All of them have the potential to be quality players, but none of them are the finished product - and none of them were even half as good as Dean was for the Bucs already flawed defense in 2025.
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