When Tampa Bay takes on the New York Giants on Sunday, cornerback Jamel Dean could be back in the Buccaneers lineup.
Dean missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, which kept him from taking sole possession of the Mr. Buccaneer title among Auburn alumni.
Dean and former Auburn and Tampa Bay teammate Carlton Davis played in 76 regular season games each for the Buccaneers. That’s the most among former Tampa Bay Tigers.
During the offseason, the Bucs traded Davis to the Detroit Lions, preventing the cornerback from maintaining his lead over Dean in games played in Tampa Bay.
Dean won’t be an oddity as a franchise leader in games for an Auburn alumnus. For five other NFL franchises, the career regular-season games leader among Auburn alumni is an active player:
- Offensive tackle Braden Smith is Auburn’s leader for regular season games with the Indianapolis Colts. He replaced Jackie Burkett.
- Safety Daniel Thomas is Auburn’s leader for regular season games with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He replaced Sen’Derrick Marks.
- Kicker Daniel Carlson is Auburn’s leading kicker for regular season games with the Las Vegas Raiders. He replaced Aundray Bruce.
- Cornerback Jonathan Jones is Auburn’s leader for regular season games with the New England Patriots. He replaced Heath Evans.
Defensive lineman Angelo Blackson is Auburn’s career leader in games played for the Chicago Bears, and he’s still playing — just not with the Bears. Blackson now plays for the Arizona Cardinals.
Former Auburn players with the most games for each current NFL franchise include:
Arizona Cardinals: Wide receiver Frank Sanders, 123 games. Two other Auburn alumni have played more than 100 games with the Cardinals: linebacker Karlos Dansby with 122 and center Tom Banks with 116.
Atlanta Falcons: Long snapper Josh Harris, 156.
Baltimore Ravens: Guard Ben Grubbs, 74.
Buffalo tickets: Defensive tackle Spencer Johnson, 76 years old.
Carolina Panthers: Quarterback Cam Newton, 133.
Chicago Bear: Defensive tackle Angelo Blackson, 32 years old.
Cincinnati Bengals: Offensive tackle Willie Anderson, 181. Another Auburn alumnus played in over 100 games for the Bengals – running back James Brooks with 118.
Cleveland Browns: Frank Gatski Center, 132.
Dallas Cowboys: Linebacker Dave Edwards, 181 years old. Another Auburn alumnus has played in over 100 games for the Cowboys – defensive lineman Jay Ratliff with 104.
Denver Broncos: Defensive back John McGeever, 55 years old.
Detroit Lions: Late Dave Middleton, 63 years old.
Green Bay Packers: Tight end Ed West, 167 years old.
Houston Texans: Fullback Jay Prosch, 63 years old.
Indianapolis Colts: Offensive tackle Braden Smith, 93.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Security Daniel Thomas, 65 years old.
Kansas City Chiefs: Fullback Tony Richardson, 163 years old. Another Auburn alumnus played in over 100 games for the Chiefs – offensive tackle Dave Hill with 150.
Las Vegas Raiders: Kicker Daniel Carlson, 103 years old.
Los Angeles Chargers: Safety Mike Fuller, 90 years old.
Los Angeles Rams: Linebacker Kevin Greene, 119 years old.
Miami Dolphins: Linebacker Mike Kolen, 84 years old.
Minnesota Vikings: Rear Harold Morrow, 99 years old.
New England Patriots: Cornerback Jonathan Jones, 126 years old.
New Orleans Saints: Defensive lineman Frank Warren, 189. Another Auburn alumnus played in over 100 games for the Saints – defensive lineman Willie Whitehead with 105.
New York Giants: Running back Brandon Jacobs, 107 years old.
New York Jets: Tight end Fred Baxter, 102 years old.
Philadelphia Eagles: Long snapper John Hudson, 67.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Defensive lineman Gerald Williams, 120 years old.
San Francisco 49ers: Offensive tackle Steve Wallace, 166 years old. Another Auburn alumnus played in more than 100 games for the 49ers – fullback Fred Beasley with 114.
Seattle Seahawks: Offensive lineman Chris Gray, 158 years old.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean, 76.
Tennessee Titans: Kicker Al Del Greco, 151. Two other Auburn alumni played in more than 100 games with the Titans — kicker Rob Bironas with 144 and defensive lineman Doug Smith with 101.
Washington Commanders: Running back Stephen Davis, 99.
The Eagles could have Auburn as co-leaders at the end of the 2024 season. If offensive lineman Jack Driscoll plays in Philadelphia’s final regular season games, he would tie Hudson for first place.
Dean injured his hamstring during Tampa Bay’s 51–27 win over the New Orleans Saints on October 13 and left the game after playing only 10 defensive snaps. In the Bucs’ previous five games, Dean made every defensive play.
Dean went on injured reserve on October 21 and returned to practice on Monday.
“I actually feel like a player right now.” Dean said. “Since I’ve been away, they’ve treated me like a coach, so it feels good to finally feel like a player again.”
The Buccaneers still need to move Dean from injured reserve to the active roster Saturday so he can play Sunday.
“I’m ready now because I spent most of the bye week – well, the whole bye week – getting back into shape,” Dean said Monday. “…It was a whole circuit of different things. You know, shout out to our coaches for setting me up to fail. It was essential. »
Tampa Bay returns from its bye week with a 4-6 record after losing the four games Dean missed. The Buccaneers and Giants will face off Sunday at noon CST at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
During the 2020 season, Tampa Bay entered its bye week with back-to-back losses and came back to win eight straight games, including Super Bowl LV.
“I look forward to this opportunity” Dean said“because I was thinking about the year of the Super Bowl. After that week off, we had the same conversation. And then after that, we took it one game at a time.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
