While all eyes are set on the 2023 season, Pewter Report is taking a look at the Bucs in 2023 and into the future. Going position by position, we’ll provide a three-year outlook to get an idea of what the 2024 and 2025 Bucs might look like — and how 2023 may impact those future teams.

Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
Offensive Line
Defensive Line
Outside Linebackers
Inside Linebackers

Today, we continue with the cornerbacks.

Bucs Cornerback Contracts

Bucs CBs Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs have their top two cornerbacks locked in for the next two years. They signed Carlton Davis to a three-year extension when he hit free agency in 2022, so his deal runs through 2024. This offseason, Tampa Bay — somewhat shockingly — was able to retain Jamel Dean. He signed a four-year contract to stay in red, white and pewter, pointing to his strong relationship with head coach Todd Bowles as a big reason why. His deal expires after the 2026 season.

Zyon McCollum is another corner who is locked in with the Bucs for the foreseeable future, at least with respect to his contract terms. He was a fifth-round pick in 2022, so it’s not as if he has a lot of money tied to him. But the team has invested in him in terms of development, so he’s a safe bet to stick around for a while. His four-year rookie deal runs through 2025.

Josh Hayes is in a similar boat, though he was a late-round pick this year. His rookie contract expires after 2026, but he isn’t owed significant guaranteed money, so it’s not as if he’s a lock to stick around. The Bucs hope he proves that he should, though.

Dee Delaney and Anthony Chesley are mainstays with a little more experience than McCollum and Hayes. They’re both signed for 2023 and will hit free agency next spring. Don Gardner is in the mix too, and he’s a guy who hits exclusive rights free agency in 2025.

Keenan Isaac and Derrek Pitts are undrafted free agents looking to stick on the 53-man roster out of camp, while Duron Lowe is another one vying for a spot at the end of the roster after signing a futures deal with the Bucs back in January.

How This Year Impacts 2024 & 2025

Bucs CBs Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Davis and Dean are the Bucs’ CB1A and CB1B for the next two years — that’s not in doubt. That means 2023 won’t decide anything about the immediate future of the starting outside spots. Where there’ll be more long-term implications is inside at the nickel cornerback position.

Hayes and Delaney, at least as of now, are the two names to watch for that slot corner role. It’s an important position for the Bucs in Todd Bowles’ defense, so there’s a lot of pressure to get this thing right. Delaney surely isn’t a long-term option, but expecting Hayes to be the solution in the slot for the next four years is putting a lot of pressure on a sixth-round pick who wasn’t on the radar for all that many leading up to the draft.

If Hayes is able to assume that spot and looks the part of a real-deal every-week starter, the Bucs will have their answer for the next four years. But if he isn’t reliable enough and the team has to piece things together this year, it’ll makes more sense for Tampa Bay to really address the position next year.

McCollum is someone general manager Jason Licht pointed to earlier this offseason as an in-house option to play nickel corner, but his physical profile lends itself far more to him sticking on the outside. The Bucs need him to take the next step in 2023. Barring another addition, he’ll be the first off the bench should Davis or Dean go down with an injury — and history says one or both of them will at some point this year.

Really, the 2023 season will help the Bucs see what they have at cornerback outside of their top two. If McCollum fails to live up to the team’s hopes and no one else really solidifies their spots, the corner position is one that Tampa Bay will need to keep building depth for in the coming offseasons.

Three-Year Outlook: Bucs Cornerbacks

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The immediate future will see the Bucs continue to field Davis and Dean as their top two corners. But what happens when Davis is set for free agency again in 2025? Will he get a third contract with Tampa Bay, or will the team move in a different direction on one side as Dean enters year three of his four-year deal?

If McCollum continues to develop and the Bucs are wanting to evaluate him as someone potentially worth re-signing to another contract, perhaps he gets a chance to start opposite Dean in 2025. That would be the final year of his rookie contract, and it would be a make-or-break year for him to solidify his spot in the front office’s future plans.

Hayes is an interesting case too, as he doesn’t have a lot invested in him as a sixth-round pick. At the same time, the team has high hopes for him and there’s at least a chance he carves out a role with the Bucs for the next four years.

At least one thing is certain about the future of Tampa Bay’s cornerback room, though. The depth roles behind Davis and Dean are up for grabs as it is, so the next couple of years could see the team a reuild or refresh its depth.

Three-Year Outlook Summary

The Bucs’ cornerback group could use an uptick in interceptions this year, however it could get them. But as it stands, Tampa Bay has some solid pieces in place for the next few years. Building depth and putting together a plan for the next few years after 2024/2025, though, will be an important task in the next couple of offseasons.