True Cost Of Jamel Dean Emerging
March 20th, 2023
With young defensive backs Mike Edwards and cornerback/nickel Sean Murphy-Bunting now wearing the uniforms of AFC teams, two Tampa Bay Super Bowl pieces, the perception of Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean’s value is more clear.
Obviously, Joe doesn’t have copies of the contracts, but various reports reveal Edwards got $3 million plus incentives from the Chiefs, and Murphy-Bunting will score $5 million this season from Tennessee.
Dean will bag $13 million in 2023, so the Bucs preferred Dean to signing the other two plus having roughly $4 million-plus to buy another established player (Will Gholston, perhaps?).
Joe wonders how fans feel about how highly the team valued Dean — versus what they could have purchased with his salary.
Edwards and Murphy-Bunting combined for 8 interceptions, 3 touchdowns and 2 forced fumbles over the past two seasons (including playoffs). Dean registered 4 interceptions with no TDs or forced fumbles in the same time period.
Joe understands the Dean investment, but it’s worth deeper scrutiny after seeing what Edwards and Murphy-Bunting are earning from high-caliber franchises.
This whole scenario has Joe recalling when the Bucs cut Hall of Famer cornerback Darrelle Revis and his massive salary because they preferred to pay Alterraun Verner half the price and use the extra money for other free agents.
And no, Joe isn’t comparing Dean to Revis, who went on to win a Super Bowl and earned two Pro Bowl trips after he left Tampa Bay.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:32 am
Yep I understand the price aspect of it all but if Bowles needs to win now, there’s no reason to train a free agent how to operate in his system when you have guys in house. Neither SMB or Edwards performed consistently well enough that they were high above what we have in house.
Need a ball hawk safety but one with speed Edwards is too slow
March 20th, 2023 at 10:34 am
Now that the Eagles lost Bradbury, the Bucs have the best pair of corners on the league.
So we got THAT going for us, which is nice
March 20th, 2023 at 10:35 am
The Bucs have kept more of their free agents than I thought they could, including Dean and David. They were bound to lose some, SMB got twice as much as I thought he would get. If the Bucs really wanted Edwards back, I think he would’ve been…So maybe McCollum will be better this year, and maybe the Bucs will draft a Safety in the 3rd Round.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:36 am
So Edwards and SMB, who are young and have possibly future potential, got $8MM from “high quality franchises”, and you use Dean as a comparison? Strange… David plays a different position. –Joe
How about comparing the same figure of $8MM that LVD got for a one year deal at 30 years old? I love LVD, dont get me wrong -he deserves the Ring of Honor for sure. But I am not sure signing a player that has a very limited future and letting 2 young players go was a smart move.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:38 am
With Dean, we still have the nucleus of a good defense…….Vea, Gaines, LVD, White, Nelson, AWJ…..(notice absence of our last two top picks)
There’s always a trade-off…….this somewhat changes the draft’s priorities…..we need the following……..Oline, Edge, S, S, TE, RB, WR
March 20th, 2023 at 10:45 am
Hey Beej, the eagles got Bradberry to return to philly on a 3 year deal.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:46 am
You NEED a % of your starting players on rookie contracts, can’t get around it
March 20th, 2023 at 10:46 am
Edwards and SMB were injury-prone. While Dean had some injuries, he was still pretty durable.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:48 am
Good corners are very hard to come by, so they get paid!! We have two good ones! They both can be shutdown corners! They are both young and getting better!
March 20th, 2023 at 10:48 am
Beej Says:
March 20th, 2023 at 10:34 am
Now that the Eagles lost Bradbury, the Bucs have the best pair of corners on the league.
So we got THAT going for us, which is nice
____
Eagles signed Bradberry back and Slay. They lost CJ.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:50 am
No matter who they chose to sign or not sign, someone would be bellyaching. So far, I can see the reasoning behind it. Sad to see SMB go.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:53 am
the consensus is that this draft is deep with DB talent this year… they can easily replace the production of SMB and Edwards with rookies that are younger, faster more athletic & cheaper
March 20th, 2023 at 10:54 am
TBBF …. Gotta agree on OLine & DT/OLB (Edge?) in the Top3, but after that it’s anybody’s guess I’d think. We’ve gotta draft another CB high I think, but could say the same about DT, S, ILB, TE, WR, WR even QB if one fell in our lap.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:57 am
Edwards and SMB are more replaceable.
A top flight corner is not.
Good call from Bucs front office.
March 20th, 2023 at 11:01 am
Top corners are more valuable that mid-middlin’ safeties & corners.
Both S-B & Edwards are replaceable.
March 20th, 2023 at 11:09 am
I think we gotta trust Bowles and Licht here. I was skeptical at first because I would of rather had the team invest in pass rushers. However there weren’t a ton of pass rushers available this year in free agency. Todd Bowles has proven to get a pass rush out of minimal talent with the way he blitzes and disguises the defense. Now with 3 out of 4 dbacks coming back we can focus on pass rushers in the draft or when people get cut. Bucs are quietly piecing together a solid team that should be able to compete for the south next year.
March 20th, 2023 at 11:11 am
It would have been nice to have Edwards and SMB back but we can’t keep everyone given the situation with the salary cap.
And I trust JL and his team more than myself when it comes to choosing who to keep. 😉
March 20th, 2023 at 11:14 am
Hard to keep SMB if you can see Zyon becoming a capable CB3. He’s got all the physical tools and was productive in his college career at a lower level of competition. You’d think he could grow into it over the course of his 2nd season.
March 20th, 2023 at 11:15 am
Licht will probably make a move in the draft to backload the CB depth chart with a rookie to compete with McCollum. Another offseason development to keep an eye on is who’ll be in the competition to win the job at Nickel through camp.
March 20th, 2023 at 11:16 am
Edward’s and bunting are easier to replace in the 3rd and 4th rounds of the draft. You got 3 studs in the secondary and now we need young low cost guys around them.
March 20th, 2023 at 11:18 am
Need to get faster on the back end. SMB seemed to be a fav of Bowles but Dean is a prototype outside corner with more upside. And, so I think the feeling is we develop Zyon, maybe resign a cheap vet, and draft one or two DBs. Best thing we can do for the secondary is get an edge rusher.
March 20th, 2023 at 11:19 am
Beej Says:
March 20th, 2023 at 10:34 am
Now that the Eagles lost Bradbury, the Bucs have the best pair of corners on the league.
So we got THAT going for us, which is nice
1. the Eagles re-signed both Slay and Bradberry.
2. the Dolphins have Howard and Ramsey
3. the Jets have Gardner and D.J. Reed
March 20th, 2023 at 11:32 am
Spottrac had a market value of 16 million a year for dean so 13 isnt bad good corners get paid too accept it both smb and Edwards were too inconsistent they are good backups but the bucs wanted starters.
March 20th, 2023 at 11:54 am
Well we have the second best pair of corners in the league, so we got that going for us, which is nice
March 20th, 2023 at 12:25 pm
Id rather have Dean on the roster if Carlton Davis goes down then SMB.
March 20th, 2023 at 12:40 pm
All prognostications based upon the 1st team staying healthy all season….so far the Bucs record shows this is near impossible….will need some top quality backups to be able to step up whenever needed if you expect to win …..
March 20th, 2023 at 1:14 pm
The NFL stands for not for long. And I forget which coach said it which is I will tolerate you until I can replace you. In this case Murphy Bunting, who was wildly inconsistent for us, and Mike Edward, who flash does a play maker, but in between was nothing that great, or both very replaceable players.
This is a very strong draft for secondary. The bucks are in prime position to pick up either Brian branch who would actually be able to replace both Murphy, Bunting and Edwards. If not him, I know they had a meeting with Robinson from Florida State who also could play both nickel corner and safety.
I will bank that one of our top three picks on draft day will be a position that replaces both the guys we lost. It will also be a fraction of the cost, and will likely be with a player with a better Pedegree.
March 20th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
For all the bashing I do, they made a good move here
Dean is far better than SMB – no doubt about it
Edwards is a liability against the run
They went with superior talent over quantity of lesser talent
March 20th, 2023 at 1:18 pm
JOE!!! 2 good players do not equal one great player
March 20th, 2023 at 1:20 pm
Signing multiple mediocre players instead of one good player is what Licht did pre-Brady, which is why you’d have sign Vinny Curry, Mitch Unrein and Beau Allen – when they could have taken that money and signed Calais Campbell.
Two or three mediocre players do not equal one good player, and Dean is a good player.
Also when it comes to stats … if a corner is good, they tend to not have a lot of stats since QB’s avoid them. For example, with as much as this hurts me to say, Wayne Haddix was not better than Deion Sanders, despite the stats.
March 20th, 2023 at 1:43 pm
Bucs secondary was not too durable or productive recently due to near Constant injuries.
Hopefully, better and more durable prospects can be developed, although hindsight is always 20-20, says D Barber.
March 20th, 2023 at 3:09 pm
Explain to me who are the backup corners and linebackers?
March 20th, 2023 at 3:31 pm
In Licht I trust!!! Licht drafted every single one of these guys listed. I think Dean is the higher caliber where as the other guys will be a little bit easier to replace. I think we will at least get 2-3 contributors from this draft. OL, DL, & DB I think we hit hard this draft.
March 20th, 2023 at 3:40 pm
Kenny Britt
Zyon McCollum
Dee Delaney
Drafted players not yet on roster
2nd wave of ree agency players who will re sign like. Neal and Ryan
March 20th, 2023 at 6:11 pm
Zyon McCollum
Dee Delaney
Drafted players not yet on roster
2nd wave of ree agency players who will re sign like. Neal and Ryan
———–
That is a terrible list. McCollum was just a rookie, so he can build on that, so I wouldn’t write him off. Also McCollum is a heck of an athlete, his RAS score was a perfect 10, which is insane. So he at least has all the physical tools you need, so hopefully it all comes together.
But Delaney was terrible and slow. Neal is WAYYYY to slow to play, there is no way they should bring him back unless maybe as a coach. And Ryan is old, injured and slow.
Thanks, you made me feel worse about the secondary again.
March 20th, 2023 at 6:29 pm
Just don’t draft anymore DE’s from Clemson please.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:49 pm
Was deans pick 6 on rodgers not in the last 2 seasons? Smb seemed to be boom or bust. Either got burned or a big splash play. He will surely be missed though.