Jamel Dean is balling out and it’s all because he stayed true to his word
The Bucs’ cornerback is having the best year of his career.
It’s an ominous sign whenever a player has to take a pay cut and it wasn’t any different when Jamel Dean agreed to one during the offseason.
It wasn’t small potatoes, either. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lowered Dean’s salary from $12.5 million to $4.5 million and voided the final year of his deal on top of that, making him a free agent after the season.
If that doesn’t say you’re on thin ice, I don’t know what does.
Now, Dean is having the best year of his career and he’s on track to make his first-ever Pro Bowl.
Talk about flipping the script and in the biggest way possible.
Jamel Dean’s stats through six games:
- Reception % allowed: 42.9 (2nd)
- Interceptions: 2 (t-1st)
- QB rating when targeted: 27.4 (1st)
Jamel Dean is a man on a mission in 2025
Dean has always been a really good cornerback, but his two biggest issues have been staying healthy and the inability to create turnovers. The two have played off each other, too, as the nagging injuries have prevented Dean from reaching his full potential.
That’s exactly why staying healthy and finding ways to force more takeaways was his primary focus of the offseason and it’s safe to say everything is going to plan.
“I’m a goal-oriented kind of person,” Dean said Wednesday, “so once I start saying like, this is what I’m going to focus on, I just basically lock in and just to do whatever I can to make sure that, you know, I make it happen.”
“It clicks. It takes a few years to get it all down and become a seasoned vet,” Todd Bowles told reporters Thursday. “He’s healthier, number one. When he was healthy, he always played decent football. I think the mental part of it is clicking with the physical part right now. He’s not thinking as much, and he’s just playing ball and he feels free, and he’s doing a great job.”
The changes range from Dean’s recovery process to what he does before, during, and after practice. He’s found a system and has used it to take his game to the next level and his ceiling has never been higher.
“Before practice, we are out there trying to catch balls, like, any opportunity we get,” said Dean. “And then during individual we try to catch at least like 20 balls during individual, and then that’s pretty much it…
“… The main thing was basically catching while on the move. It helps me track the ball better.”
Like Bowles said, everything is clicking. Now, the challenge is sustaining this level of play while also improving. If Dean can do that he’ll be looking at more than just his first Pro Bowl nod – he’ll be looking at a massive payday next offseason.
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