Super Bowl cornerback Jamel Dean is still standing. And he is standing tall.
After tonight’s commanding win against the 49ers, Dean stood at his locker talking to Joe.
If your eyes popped out of your head when Dean had a strip-sack in the first quarter, it’s understandable. That was the first sack of Dean’s career.
The Bucs don’t blitz Dean much but he’s happy to embrace the role if Todd Bowles will give it to him.
“I mean, they can blitz me whenever they feel like it. I just had to get that one for the books. It felt great. You know, finally get my first sack and not only that, it was a strip-sack,” Dean said.
As for Dean’s fourth-quarter interception on fourth down, the Bucs would have been better off if Dean batted the deep throw down.
Joe asked Dean if coaches tell defensive backs not to catch a deep ball in that kind of situation. Absolutely not, Dean said.
“It don’t work that way. They expect you to catch it. You can’t bat it down. You gotta make the most of your opportunities,” Dean said.
That was Dean’s second interception of the season.
Dean missed last week’s game in Seattle with a groin injury but he said that’s very old news. He called the injury “very minor.”
As for Dean’s play in a contract year after he took a steep pay cut, the 2019 third-round pick says he’s liking his season to date.
“I’m on a good track right now,” Dean said.
Yes, Dean is still standing — as the Bucs’ No. 1 cornerback. Joe saw Zyon McCollum after the game and his hand was still in what appeared to be a cast.
Regular readers know Dean said this summer that [he believes the 2025 Buccaneers are better than the 2020 Super Bowl team](https://www.joebucsfan.com/2025/07/jamel-dean-thinks-bucs-are-better-than-super-bowl-team/). He’s not backing down.
“I still feel that way because we’re constantly winning the hard games,” Dean said. “We’re doing what great teams do.”