Buccaneers' latest move with Jamel Dean reveals one big clue about future

Jamel Dean's future with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been a major point of discussion for the past few seasons now, and after a contract restructure on Monday, it looks like that future is getting much shorter.

PewterReport reported Monday that Dean, who was due $12.5 million in the third year of his four-year, $52 million deal he signed to start 2023, took a massive pay cut on his salary this year in order to become a free agent in 2026 instead of 2027. FOX Sports' Greg Auman commented after that Dean is set to knock a staggering $8 million off his 2025 salary, making $4.25 million this season with $750,000 in playing incentives.

Pewter Report's @josh_queipo has learned that the #Bucs have restructured the contract of CB Jamel Dean with Dean taking a pay cut in exchange for being a free agent in 2026.
— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) September 8, 2025

I can confirm this. It’s a significant pay cut for Bucs corner Jamel Dean, who was to make $12.5 million but will now make $4.25 million this season, with another $750k in potential playing time incentives. Now a free agent next spring. https://t.co/2yKvMmXAOl
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 8, 2025

That's a huge pay cut for Dean, and it essentially confirms his future with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — he almost certainly doesn't have one.

The Buccaneers are likely moving on from Jamel Dean

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean (35) celebrates after a fumble recovery in the second half against the Chargers — Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean (35) celebrates after a fumble recovery in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

This almost certainly confirms Dean's tenure in Tampa Bay is over. Dean's only benefit to taking so much less money is that he gets to now be a free agent in 2026, not 2027, so his fresh start can come one year earlier than it initially would. There's also a (very small) hope that he could be dealt before the deadline for a needy team to rent him for half a season, as his $4.25 million salary is much more palatable to take on than his previous $12.5 million he was initially making this year.

There's also what this means in the immediate future, though. The team has clearly already decided that they want to move on from him, and Dean has also decided that he'd rather take a chance elsewhere than stay in Tampa Bay for another year. Because of that, the team's second-round draft pick this year, cornerback Benjamin Morrison, could step into Dean's role a lot sooner than we initially thought — Dean played a rough game in Atlanta vs. the Falcons in Week 1 that saw him net a 59.2 pass coverage grade, so those plans may already be in motion for Week 2 and beyond.

It's impossible to tell what the plan is at the exact moment, especially since Morrison is still recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered in camp. It's clear that Dean doesn't have a future in Tampa Bay beyond 2025, but given how the two sides clearly feel about each other, he might be getting less playing time much sooner than later.

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