Buccaneers Cornerback Shocked By Teammate's Trade During Offseason

Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean speaks on the Bucs trading one of their top corners during the offseason

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerbacks Carlton Davis (24) and Jamel Dean celebrate after an NFL game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 11, 2022, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.(AP Photo/Matt Patterson) /

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers shook up their roster this offseason, especially in the secondary. The one-year failed experiment with safety Ryan Neal led to the return of Jordan Whitehead.

Reinforcements to the secondary were brought in during free agency, with veterans Tavierre Thomas and Bryce Hall joining the fold. The Bucs went even further in the draft selecting the versatile and talented Tykee Smith in the third round. But perhaps the most shocking move was trading veteran cornerback Carlton Davis and a pair of sixth-round picks to the Lions in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Drafted in the second round in 2018, Davis was the Bucs' premier outside cornerback and in his prime shut down the likes of Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, Davante Adams, and Justin Jefferson. In fact, Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase called Davis the toughest corner to go against in his career. However, injuries and lack of ball production combined with struggles when asked to play zone led to him being traded in the final year of his deal. The move also freed up much-needed cap space for the Buccaneers, but in doing so, broke up one of the strongest tandems and friendships on the team.

Davis came into the league a year prior to cornerback Jamel Dean's arrival with the Bucs, but the duo played three years together at Auburn before pairing up for five years in red and pewter. So naturally, when the news hit that Davis had been traded, Dean was taken aback. understanding truly what people mean when they say the NFL is a business.

“It caught me off guard,” Dean said. “I wasn’t even aware of all the stuff that was going on until I got a phone call. I looked on the news and it said that Carlton got traded, I was like ‘What? Oh, okay. That’s random.’ Every day, they always say it’s a business, so, okay.”

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The show goes on for Dean and the Bucs, who are in the middle of Phase Three of the offseason participating in the team's OTAs. It's all business for the veteran cornerback, who acknowledges that this is a big season for him and needs to stay healthy and make more plays on the ball, especially after dropping a costly interception during the team's NFC Divisional matchup against the Lions. But even though he understands the business sides of things, it's still a different feeling for him not seeing Davis on the opposite side of the field on defense.

“It’s kind of a different feeling,” Dean said. “Knowing that I’ve been playing football with this man for X amount of years and to see him not here is like ‘Ahh.’ It’s kind of different without my buddy here.”

You can follow JC Allen on Twitter @JCAllenNFL.

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