Tag: Jamel Dean

Bucs designate DB Jamel Dean to return from Injured Reserve

On Monday, the Bucs designated cornerback Jamel Dean to return from injured reserve.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been dealing with an unreliable secondary for weeks. General Manager Jason Licht made some moves to fix it, but the return of one starting corner could do the trick.

On Monday, the Bucs designated cornerback Jamel Dean to return from injured reserve. The designation begins his 21-day practice window today, and he is eligible to be activated at any time during the 21-day period.

Dean has played in six games this year for the Bucs and has totaled 43 tackles and four pass breakups in those games.

The secondary has surrendered over 400 yards per game this year, including 264 passing yards. The combo of Tykee Smith and Zyon McCollum has flashed but they need more. The return of Jamel Dean and the move to claim Mike Edwards could be what this team needs.

The secondary, at least, will have a simpler test coming off the Bye Week as they face either Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock after the Giants have benched Daniel Jones.

Bucs announce roster moves ahead of Week 7 matchup against the Ravens

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made several roster moves ahead of their Week 7 matchup in primetime against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made several roster moves ahead of their primetime Week 7 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed cornerback Jamel Dean and wide receiver Kameron Johnson on injured reserve. In a positive move, the team has activated defensive lineman Earnest Brown IV from Injured Reserve and punter Trenton Gill.

Brown IV was placed on Injured Reserve earlier in the season and has not played in the 2024 season. He previously played in 12 games for the Bucs and had 14 tackles in those games. For Gill, he has played in three games for the Bucs this year and has a net punt average of 36.2 yards.

The loss of Dean will mean that Zyon McCollum and rookie Tykee Smith will have larger roles going forward. Both have had their moments in recent weeks, highlighted by Smith, who, in Week 6, played well enough to be nominated for NFC Rookie of the Week.

5 key takeaways from the Bucs pivotal win over the Saints in Week 6

An ever-important bounce-back game was on the docket for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the New Orleans Saints on the road.

An ever-important bounce-back game was on the docket for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the New Orleans Saints following their Week 5 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Not only would the Bucs fall to .500 with a loss, but they would have been 0-2 in the NFC South, a place you do not want to be.

With a commanding 51-27 win over their division rivals, this was more of a giant leap forward for the Bucs team, who improved to 4-2 on the season. Here are 5 key takeaways from Sunday’s pivotal win over the Saints.

The offense once again showed glimpses of explosiveness

For the fourth time in six games, Baker Mayfield and the Bucs have put up more than 30 points, three of those being in winning efforts. Despite three interceptions from Mayfield, two of which should have been catches, Liam Coen never let off the gas in his playcalling. Three fourth-quarter touchdowns were a much different -and welcomed- feeling for Bucs fans as the offense was able to truly shut the door on the Saints in their blowout win.

The Buccaneers have the luxury of two superstar wide receivers and a revolving door of capable running backs. A balanced offensive attack proved the recipe for success against the Saints, as there was a 36-to-35 passing attempt to 35-to-35 rushing attempt split.

Rachaad White might be the odd man out

There will likely continue to be a theme when it comes to figuring out the running back room, and the theme will be uncertainty. A couple of times this season, it appeared that Rachaad White and Bucky Irving could be in the discussion for one of the top duos in the league until they weren’t. That conversation spun off into Irving potentially taking over RB1 duties from White. With White being inactive for Sunday’s matchup against the Saints, insert Sean Tucker into the conversation. Tucker carried the ball 14 times for 136 yards and a touchdown, while Irving also logged 14 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown.

A saving grace for White has been his ability to catch passes and create out of the backfield. However, Tucker finished the day as the team’s second-leading receiver, with 56 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.

The coaching staff will need to figure this out, and with arguably the toughest four-game stretch in the league looming, it might be time to roll the dice and stick with what worked so well against the Saints.

Defense still needs to tighten up

Don’t let the score fool you. Typically a 30+ point effort puts your team into prevent defense and clock-eating mode, that just simply hasn’t been the case for this team more often than not this season. Once up 17-0 early over the Saints, quickly turned into a 3-point 20-17 deficit. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler was sacked five times and threw two interceptions on the day, but he never truly looked uncomfortable in the backfield in his first career start.

Only one time throughout their six games have the Buccaneers given up less than 250 yards, and that was to an A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith-less Eagles offense that generated 227 yards of offense. Leaving your offense to win in a shootout is going to be a difficult task, especially with the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Francisco 49ers coming up. Yes, a crucial game against the Atlanta Falcons should be on the radar as the defense allowed Kirk Cousins to have a career day in Week 5.

Cade Otton isn’t the tight end the Bucs need

As legendary pro wrestling commentator Jim Ross would say, “he’s a good hand.” What that means is that he can be dependable, but there is nothing that truly stands out. It’s not a knock on Otton, but he is incapable of the athletic playmaking that the Buccaneers offense needs. GM Jason Licht is not one to make in-season trades, however, a dynamic playmaking tight end could prove to push this offense into the upper echelon of the consistently elite offenses in the NFL- emphasis on consistently.

Tykee Smith is developing into a solid starter

It’s too early in his career to talk about a budding superstar. After yesterday’s performance, it’s understandable why emotions are high, but let’s bring it back down to earth and talk about what Tykee Smith truly is, and that is a very solid developing star in this Buccaneers defense. Allowing just a 3.5 passer rating -yes, you read that right, 3.5- to Rattler while seeing six targets (second most behind Zyon McCollum’s 7) cannot be ignored. As Jamel Dean has struggled in the first quarter of the 2024 season, and the continued need for Todd Bowles to tighten up the defense, Smith should continue to see more snaps- especially with the return of Antoine Winfield Jr. looming over the top.

 

Bucs CB Jamel Dean declared OUT with hamstring injury against Saints

The Bucs starting cornerback left their game against the New Orleans Saints and was quickly declared out.

Things are getting chaotic in New Orleans for the Bucs defense.

Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean exited Tampa Bay’s Week 6 matchup with the New Orleans Saints with a hamstring injury. He required assistance to leave the field and was quickly declared out for the rest of the game.

Undrafted rookie cornerback Tyrek Funderburk entered the game in Dean’s place. Just as the Bucs started to get healthy on defense with Antoine Winfield Jr. and Calijah Kancey returning, the Bucs’ secondary took yet another hit.

Cornerback Bryce Huff is already on injured reserve.

Thankfully, for the secondary, despite being beaten up with a loaded injury report, they got Antoine Winfield Jr. back, and he has made an impact. Zyon McCollum has played well so far for the Bucs in place of several starters. With Dean going out, the role for McCollum will be expected to expand to help Funderbunk play more meaningful reps as well.

Eagles limp into bye week after a 33-16 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 4

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered a disastrous 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

With A.J. Brown (hamstring), DeVonta Smith (concussion), and Lane Johnson (concussion) out with injuries, the Eagles didn’t have enough depth in key positions. They suffered a disastrous 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Jalen Hurts was sacked six times on the afternoon, and the star quarterback committed another turnover (fumble), as Philadelphia could not sustain any offensive consistency without the big three in the lineup.

Saquon Barkley had ten carries for 84 yards (8.4 avg). Still, with the Eagles playing from behind all afternoon, the running back was unable to get the Philadelphia offense over the hump against a motivated Tampa defense.

An Eagles defense that shut New Orleans down in Week 3 was gashed to 445 total yards for the Buccaneers offense, including 111 rushing yards and a twelve-minute advantage in time of possession.

Baker Mayfield was on fire early, and even after an inefficient second half, he still was 30-40 passing for 347 yards, two touchdowns, and a 100.2 rating.

Philadelphia (2-2) will now have a week off, during which questions about Sirianni’s job security and the Eagles’ playoff hopes will dominate the airwaves.

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Sights and sounds from first half of Eagles matchup vs. Buccaneers

Jalen Hurts was 7-15 passing for 49 yards and one touchdown, and the Eagles offense was non-existent in the first half as Tampa jumped out to a 21-0 lead before finishing the first half with a 24-7 lead. The Buccaneers dominated time of possession, …

Jalen Hurts was 7-15 passing for 49 yards and one touchdown, and the Eagles offense was non-existent in the first half as Tampa jumped out to a 21-0 lead before finishing the first half with a 24-7 lead. The Buccaneers dominated time of possession, holding for 20:14 seconds, compared to Philadelphia’s 9+ minutes with the football.

With the second half set to begin, here are sights and sounds from the first half.

5 key takeaways in the Bucs 26-7 loss to the Broncos

Following a huge win over the Lions last week, emotions were high, and suddenly, the Buccaneers had a lot of attention aimed at them.

Following a huge win over the Detroit Lions last week, emotions were high, and suddenly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a lot of attention aimed at them.

Welcoming in an 0-2 Denver Broncos team led by Bo Nix, who had yet to score a touchdown – neither passing nor rushing – in his rookie season, this had either trap game written all over it, or the Bucs would assert their dominance.

Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, it would be the former. As the Buccaneers fall to 2-1 on the season, here are five key takeaways from their 26-7  loss to the Broncos.

1. Offensive line still struggling to protect Baker Mayfield

We saw the Bucs offensive line have a difficult time protecting QB Baker Mayfield last week and it was essentially chalked up as Justin Skule drawing the extremely difficult task of blocking Aidan Hutchinson. Today was more of the same, except the difference is that the Broncos’ secondary is a bit more stingy than the Lions. With tighter coverage and an often collapsing pocket, Mayfield could not find his footing and evade pressure. Skule struggled again. However, the mistakes were all over the offensive line. Assuming there are no setbacks, Luke Goedeke should be back next week- but it’s difficult to think that he alone is the missing link to the offensive line’s protection issues.

2. Lack of depth on defensive line was on full display

For most of the game, Nix remained comfortable in the pocket. With both Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey inactive, William Gholston and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka banged up all week. It left only a healthy Yaya Diaby as the only healthy starter on the defensive line.

3. Bucky Irving needs to be utilized more

In three games this season, Bucky Irving has been primarily used as the change-of-pace back for the Bucs, with Rachaad White getting the early-down carriers. White displayed a great ability to catch the ball out of the backfield last season, but Irving also possesses that same ability while being a bit shiftier- as he displayed against the Broncos. Suppose the Bucs continue to struggle to keep Mayfield’s pocket clean. In that case, it might be time for Liam Coen to dial up some two-back sets or add some wrinkles to the playbook and get Irving involved and on the field more, and his explosive play needs to be capitalized upon while it’s still early in the season.

4. Absolutely no energy on either side of the ball

The lack of energy was apparent from the first drive. Beat a good opponent and then falling flat the following week has been the cycle over the last three seasons since Todd Bowles has been the head coach. The secondary was playing prevent defense from the first quarter, and with the defensive line unable to get after Nix, the Broncos wide receivers had plenty of real estate to allow for easy, uncontested catches on a much more frequent basis than any defensive coordinator would like to see; alas that was what we saw from the Bucs secondary today.

5. Offensive play-calling looked predictable

Perhaps a testament to the Broncos’ defense, the Bucs’ offense looked stagnant and predictable for about 75% of the game until late in the fourth quarter. Irving was clearly the hot hand in the Bucs backfield and only surpassed Rachaad White in carries until five minutes remained. Many fans were having PTSD of the Byron Leftwich “run it on first down, no matter what” play calls on social media, the Broncos defense looked a step ahead the entire day. Even though the Bucs won in Detroit in Week 2, the offense was still significantly out-gained by the Lions, by over 200 yards. As stated above, seeing Coen open up the playbook a little more would be a welcome addition.

Injury Update: Bryce Hall and Josh Hayes both OUT with injuries

Bucs cornerbacks Bryce Hall and Josh Hayes both exit Week 1 with injuries.

The Buccaneers cornerback group has been decimated by injuries in their Week 1 matchup with the Washington Commanders.

After Zyon McCollum went out with a concussion, his replacement, Bryce Hall, was just carted off with an apparent knee injury. Additionally, backup CB Josh Hayes has been ruled out with an ankle injury:

https://twitter.com/BuccaneersComms/status/1832901053311819825

The Bucs’ only remaining healthy cornerbacks are Jamel Dean, Tykee Smith, and Tavierre Thomas. Rookie Tyrek Funderburk was not activated for this game. Tampa Bay may have to call on Christian Izien, who was their starting nickel corner last year but is listed as a safety this season.

The Bucs defense has played well today against rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Commanders offense. They have been held to just seven points through almost three quarters while the Bucs offense has looked better than ever under new coordinator Liam Coen.

Former Tiger tight end Sal Canella signs deal with Buccaneers

The 27-year old is coming off a 2023 season in which he led the UFL with 6 receiving touchdowns.

Former Auburn Tiger [autotag]Sal Canella[/autotag] inked a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday. Canella, who spend the 2017-2019 seasons of the Plains, had most recently played football in the UFL for the Arlington Renegades.

Signing former Tigers has become quite a theme for the reigning NFC South Champions. For the majority of the last three seasons Tampa Bay’s starting cornerbacks were both Tigers, with [autotag]Jamel Dean[/autotag] and [autotag]Carlton Davis[/autotag] holding down the fort. Now with Davis in Detroit, the 27-year-old Canella joins former Tigers [autotag]K.J. Britt[/autotag] and the aforementioned [autotag]Jamel Dean[/autotag] on the Buccaneers roster.

During his three years on the Plains, Canella accumulated just 330 yards, although he did find the end zone 5 times. He improved his numbers drastically during his professional career however, where his affinity with the end zone payed off in the UFL. The 27-year old is coming off a 2023 season in which he led the league with 6 receiving scores. He also added 496 receiving yards, good for fifth in the league.

While third year tight end Cade Otton is all but a lock to earn starting duties on the Bucs, Tampa’s depth behind Otton is extremely unproven. Canella has a golden opportunity to force his way onto the roster with a solid showing in training camp over the next few weeks. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end has the size and tools to be successful in the league. We’ll see if the former Tiger can earn a spot on the 53-man roster as training camp rolls on.

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Bucs CB Jamel Dean already impressed by rookie DB Tykee Smith

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean already likes what he sees from rookie third-rounder Tykee Smith

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost one key member of their defensive backfield this offseason when they traded away starting cornerback Carlton Davis III, but they added multiple pieces to the unit that should help improve their play in 2024.

Jamel Dean now becomes the team’s unquestioned top cover man on the outside with Davis’ departure, but the return of safety Jordan Whitehead and the addition of third-round draft pick Tykee Smith should bolster the back end of Tampa Bay’s defense.

Dean recently spoke with the media about Smith’s development, the trade that sent Davis to the Detroit Lions, and much more:

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