TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl inside linebacker and 2019 first-round draft pick Devin White has requested a trade, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
One of the sources told ESPN that White has grown increasingly frustrated with the team and is “fed up.” The source did not provide specifics on the root cause of White’s frustration, but said he has become very unhappy in his current situation.
Another source told ESPN that White’s frustrations stem from negotiations over a new contract.
The Bucs do not want to trade him, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, but White wants to be traded as he is coming up on his fifth-year option worth $11.7 million, which the team already picked up.
A new multiyear contract for White was the next step, and the expectation was that White would be a core member of the defense for years to come.
White, the fifth pick in the 2019 NFL draft, played a key role in the Bucs’ Super Bowl LV run and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2021. One of the key moves the Bucs made this offseason was securing his counterpart, linebacker Lavonte David, to a one-year contract to keep the pair together at least one more year.
A month ago, White posted a series of cryptic messages to his Instagram stories, including the messages “4 year[s] went by fast” and “thank ya,” along with a pirate flag and a peace sign emoji. He then included a photograph with the sign, “God isn’t asking you to figure it out. He’s asking you to trust that he already has.”
In a follow-up tweet clarifying those Instagram posts, White wrote, “Reflecting on how fast my first four years went by, def a thanks to Bucs fans ‘good & mean ones lol’ The upside is scary.”
The Bucs have been very much limited by financial constraints, entering the 2023 free agency period more than $55 million over the salary cap — in large part because of a $35 million salary cap hit on Tom Brady’s contract. It resulted in roster cuts of several high-profile players, including left tackle Donovan Smith, running back Leonard Fournette, tight end Cam Brate and kicker Ryan Succop.
The team restructured deals for several players on long-term contracts, including wide receiver Chris Godwin, defensive tackle Vita Vea, cornerback Carlton Davis and center Ryan Jensen. Wide receiver Russell Gage also agreed to take a pay cut. Still, the Bucs had to part ways with two members of White’s draft class, safety Mike Edwards and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, in free agency.
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