The Minnesota Vikings really need another cornerback. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers really need another edge rusher. Each team has an expendable player at the same position the other one needs.
This, my friends, is how NFL deals get done.
The Buccaneers, now flush with cornerbacks, could swap veteran cornerback Jamel Dean for NFL All-Pro edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel in a trade that would help both teams and not impact either team’s salary cap in an extreme way.
Dean is under contract for 2 more seasons on the 4-year, $52 million contract he signed in March 2023. Van Ginkel is under contract for 2 more seasons after he signed a 1-year, $23 million contract extension in April 2025.
Dean is due $13 million in 2025 and $13.5 million in 2026. Van Ginkel is due $18 million in 2025 and $16 million in 2026 — an additional $8 million over the next 2 years the Buccaneers could easily afford.
The Vikings drafted an edge rusher in the first round (No. 17 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft with Dallas Turner. That’s a player they might want to maximize value from while he’s still on his rookie contract.
The Buccaneers just drafted 2 cornerbacks in the first 3 rounds of the 2025 NFL draft with Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish and have another young, talented cornerback in Zyon McCollum, who started all 17 games for the Buccaneers in 2024.
McCollum could wind up with either the franchise tag or a lucrative contract extension in 2026 if he plays well in 2025.
What Van Ginkel Could Bring to the Table
While the Buccaneers already made a big splash at edge rusher this offseason by signing Haason Reddick to a 1-year, $14 million contract on March 10, there’s a lot of uncertainty on the other side with third-year edge rusher YaYa Diaby.
With Van Ginkel, the Buccaneers might add a player who makes them legitimate NFC contenders the moment he steps into One Buc Place.
Van Ginkel, who will have approximately $50 million in career earnings when his current deal runs out, earned NFL All-Pro honors in 2024 with 79 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 18 TFL, 19 QB hits and 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns.
It was the second consecutive season Van Ginkel scored on an interception return for a touchdown and he’s scored 4 defensive touchdowns in the last 5 seasons — 3 interceptions returns and a 78-yard fumble return.
Buccaneers Might Need to Sweeten the Pot
The Buccaneers managed to dump another underperforming, highly paid cornerback before the 2024 season when they traded Carlton Davis III to the Detroit Lions — a deal for Van Ginkel would require some of the same work.
If the Buccaneers truly wanted to sweeten the pot, one move might be to add a late round pick along with Dean to get the Vikings to take the bait.
Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, Dean’s play has fallen off the map lately.
In his first 4 seasons, Dean won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers and had 7 interceptions and 41 pass deflections. That included at least one interception each season and a franchise rookie record 17 pass deflections in 2019. In the last 2 seasons, Dean has just one interception, 11 pass deflections and has missed 9 games due to injuries.
