TAMPA — These days, Bucs rookie Jamel Dean easily passes the eye test.
The 6-foot-1, 206-pound corner possesses size, length and speed, all the measurables you want to see in today’s NFL defensive backs, especially ones playing in the NFC South, home of some of the league’s best receivers.
But it wasn’t that long ago when people told Dean he’d never play football again. In the spring of 2015, doctors deemed him broken at the age of 18 after a pair of knee injuries during high school.
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So, when Bucs coach Bruce Arians raves about the maturity of his rookie class, he’s talking about players like Dean, who enters his first NFL training camp already having tackled his share of adversity.