Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis get back together

The Bucs re-sign Jamel Dean to a four-year, $52 million deal allows the Bucs to keep one of the best cornerback duos in the league – Carlton Davis III and Dean – intact. Davis signed a three-year contract last offseason that pays him more than $14 million per year, while Dean’s new deal is one year longer and pays him an average of $13 million per season.

Dean’s return came as a bit of a surprise, as there was a chance he would be the highest-paid angle in the free agency market. But Dean likes to play in Florida state, play for Todd Bowles and play with Davis.

However, this isn’t the first time Davis has reunited – or even the second.

They have been together on many occasions and made multiple stops in their football careers.

“It’s a great feeling (playing with Davis again) because me and Carlton have followed each other since high school,” Dean said at his press conference on Thursday. “It was crazy, in the All-American game in California he was actually my roommate. And then we went our separate ways in college. I went to Ohio State, he was also committed to Ohio State. I just signed up early. It didn’t work out there, we both ended up in Auburn together. He left early to go to the draft. I tried to get him to stay another year, but he wouldn’t.

“Once he got to the Bucs, of course I was excited for him, and next year I get a call from Jason and I was like ‘What? Am I really back with Carlton?” We just can’t get away from each other, can we? I just feel like me and him have a great bond. We know how to work together. It’s getting exciting.”

Jamel Dean’s decision helped by talking to Carlton Davis III

The two corners have been playing together for four years since Jamel Dean joined the Bucs in 2019 as a third-round pick after Davis had already played a season in Tampa Bay. They have helped put together one of the best defenses in football. The Bucs also know they will have this group together for at least another two seasons when Davis’s contract expires in 2024.

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

Playing together was important for both teammates. While Carlton Davis III may not have put much pressure on the Bucs to negotiate a deal with Dean, his conversation with him may have helped Dean return his interest in the Bucs when he looked around at other teams.

“Carlton called me and said, ‘They really want you,'” Davis said. “And I was like, ‘Okay.’ They were now really leaning towards my favorite.

Along with re-signing Lavonte David and Anthony Nelson, the Bucs have brought back a core group of players on the defensive end. They were the reason Tampa Bay played in so many games last season and it looks like the defense could become the team’s strength again this season with their return.