The Bucs have a lot of work to do this offseason. The same can be said for most offseasons, but this one begins with the team well over the salary cap and needing to fill holes all over the roster. And with Tom Brady’s retirement last week, they now have a vacancy at the most important position on the field, too.

So, how can the Bucs get cap compliant while still looking to field a competitive team that can threaten for a third straight division title in a very weak NFC South? It’ll take some maneuvering, and some tough decisions will be necessary.

Could the franchise tag come into play as Tampa Bay rebuilds (or reloads, as Todd Bowles would prefer to call it) its roster? Pro Football Focus recently picked out one player from each team who could be in line for a franchise tag this offseason. And while the Bucs have used the tag in each of the last three years (on Shaquil Barrett in 2020 and on Chris Godwin in 2021 and 2022), PFF’s choice feels unlikely.

Would Bucs Franchise Tag CB Dean?

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

PFF’s pick for the Bucs’ potential franchise tag recipient is cornerback Jamel Dean. Here’s what Brad Spielberger had to say about the possibility:

“The Buccaneers are in an interesting position following Tom Brady’s second and seemingly final retirement, but they do still have young talent at various spots across the roster and shouldn’t necessarily be expected to rebuild the team. Over the past three seasons, Dean’s coverage grade trails only Jaire Alexander, Jalen Ramsey and Sauce Gardner, with his 75.8 coverage grade in press coverage looks ranking 11th.

“That said, head coach Todd Bowles at times lacked faith in Dean for whatever reason. Dean may be a better fit in a defense with more emphasis on man coverage principles, and he could find that elsewhere if he does hit the market.”

Dean is coming off of a fantastic season and has truly been a beacon of consistency for Tampa Bay over his four seasons. His PFF grades from 2019-2022 were 76.4, 76.6, 74.5 and 77.9. His coverage grades were just as consistent, as he came in at 78.9, 79.9, 76.7 and 75.6.

After getting drafted out of Auburn in the third round of the 2019 Draft, Dean took a little while to adjust to the league before turning into a solid cornerback. He was CB2 for the Bucs and played like a borderline CB1 for stretches of 2022.

But Spielberger is right. Bowles has had a tendency to trust Sean Murphy-Bunting, a fellow 2019 draft pick, over Dean at times. It’s hard to explain why.

Bucs DC Todd Bowles and CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: USA Today

Murphy-Bunting was working ahead of Dean for much of training camp last summer and then played over him in the Bucs’ Wild Card loss to the Cowboys last month. Dean had been sick earlier in the week and previously had a toe injury, but Bowles’ explanation was more along the lines of “riding the hot hand” rather than citing an injury or illness.

So, will the Bucs use a franchise tag — which would cost them $18,140,000 in 2023 — on Dean? It depends on how they view him. The tag would be a nice chunk of cash for the 26-year-old, and it would be more than Carlton Davis III’s 2023 salary. Davis signed a three-year, $45 million deal with the Bucs when he hit free agency last year, and his base salary for the upcoming season is $14.5 million. Would Tampa Bay want to pay Dean like its CB1, even for a year?

The $18 million for Dean would be nice for a year, to be sure. But there’s no long-term security there. He’ll likely want to test the market in free agency, as he’ll feel like he has earned a big pay day and some security — and he has. But if Tampa Bay is intent on keeping Davis and Dean together for at least one more year, the tag is an option.