The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a team in place that seems just 1 or 2 pieces away from being a Super Bowl contender. The evidence of this was all over the field in the NFC Divisional Round as the Washington Commanders rolled to an easy win over the Detroit Lions on the way to their first NFC Championship Game appearance since 1991.
No group of players probably felt more pain watching the Commanders’ 45-31 road win over the Lions than the Buccaneers, who made several key mistakes in the fourth quarter of a 23-20 loss to the Commanders in the NFC Wild Card Round on January 12 that came down to a field goal as time expired.
Not to mention that the Buccaneers were playing the Commanders at home and just 1 of 2 teams that defeated the Lions during the regular season.
So, what needs to change? A lot of the decisions for the Buccaneers will boil down to 1 key decision on whether or not to re-sign free agent wide receiver Chris Godwin or move on and take his estimated $20 million per year salary and distribute it elsewhere.
Were the Buccaneers to keep Godwin, Bleacher Report thinks they’d likely have to part ways with a highly-paid players to create more salary cap space — veteran cornerback Jamel Dean, who has been a full-time starter for the last 5 seasons.
Dean signed a 4-year, $52 million contract extension with the Buccaneers in March 2023 which is scheduled to pay him $13 million in 2025 and $13.5 million in 2026.
From Bleacher Report: “The Bucs would create $8.4 million in cap space if they parted ways with Dean. For a team that’s going to have limited options to create cap space, that could be tempting. Chris Godwin is among the team’s pending free agents, so it could be a priority to carve out space for his extension. Dean started 12 games this season and only registered seven passes defended while giving up a passer rating of 91.2 when targeted.”
Other Players on Chopping Block for Buccaneers
Dean wasn’t the only player that Bleacher Report thought might be a salary cap casualty for Tampa Bay this offseason. Safety Jordan Whitehead ($4.5 million) and third-string running back Sean Tucker ($1 million) were also suggestions. They’re also players the Buccaneers might be able to package in a trade.
Dean Has Spent Entire Career in Tampa Bay
Dean has been with the Buccaneers since they drafted him in the third round (No. 94 overall) of the 2019 NFL draft out of Auburn and was a key figure on the defense in the team’s run to winning Super Bowl LV. That season, Dean had a career-high 62 tackles and became one of just 3 players in NFL history to return an interception for a touchdown against quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Not everyone was optimistic about Dean’s prospects headed into the 2024 season — Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon singled out Dean and his $52 million contract on his list of the most overpaid players in the NFL.
That came after a down year in 2023 for Dean, who suffered through his first NFL season without an interception and allowed a career-high 42 receptions on 61 targets, according to PFF’s advanced stats.
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Buccaneer Predicted to Cut Ties With $52 Million CB