Lavonte David embracing leadership role — including mentoring Devin White

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

Lavonte David does not need any reminders of his age.

A year ago, the veteran Bucs linebacker shared a locker room with the ageless Tom Brady, technically more than a decade older, as part of an experienced cast of 30-somethings trying to win another ring with the seven-time Super Bowl champ.

The 2023 Bucs will be a much younger team, and 11 of the 13 oldest players from last year are gone, leaving the 33-year-old very aware of his place as a wise leader in a youthful locker room.

“I’ve seen a lot of people come and go, but now, it’s really official that I’m the oldest guy on the team,” he said Wednesday, preparing for his 12th NFL season. “I just want to embrace it and do my best to lead this team.”

Earlier this week, the Bucs announced that they will bring back their orange Creamsicle uniforms for the Week 6 home game against the Lions, and while David doesn’t go all the way back to the team’s last season in orange in 1996, he is the only current player to wear them as throwbacks, way back in his rookie year in 2012.

“I love it. I love it. I got a little glimpse of them,” David said. “They’re not like the ones I wore in 2012. I can’t tell y’all right now, but you’ll be in for a surprise. They’re really nice and I definitely like the way they look.”

That which is old is new again, and David is still playing at a high level, perpetually appreciated as one of the league’s most underrated players. His 124 tackles last year tied for a team high and marked his highest total since 2015, his lone Pro Bowl season. After going eight years in Tampa without a playoff game, he’s been to the postseason three years in a row.

David’s challenge now is to continue a culture of success and to keep internal expectations high despite national pundits and oddsmakers predicting the Bucs as one of the league’s worst teams. Being a young team doesn’t have to be a negative, but the Bucs will have to count on rookies and young players not only for impact on the field, but even leadership in some places.

“You see it in practice, you see it in meetings,” David said of the team’s overall youth. “The younger guys are kind of out of control sometimes, just going fast and going hard, but that’s expected. I definitely like the young group that we do have. I’ve been watching from afar when I wasn’t here (this spring), watching them put the work in. It’s really promising.”

David is veteran enough to serve as a mentor to the team’s young leaders, and that’s especially the case with linebacker Devin White, a three-time captain who is playing on his fifth-year option this season but wants a long-term deal badly enough that he asked for a trade this spring, a request the team has politely declined. White was not in attendance during voluntary organized team activity workouts, and while he has been in attendance for this week’s mandatory minicamp, he was away long enough that coach Todd Bowles said he wouldn’t be practicing while the team assesses where he is physically.

“His emotions got the best of him,” David said Wednesday of David’s public unhappiness and requesting a trade. “I know Devin wants to be here, wants to play here … he’s here, ready to work. He’s not ready to go right now, but he will be at the beginning of training camp.”

White wants to be rewarded as one of the highest-paid linebackers in the league, if not the highest paid, and the Bucs have been unwilling to do that. He’ll make $11.7 million this year on his option but is likely seeking a deal close to the five-year, $100 million contract Roquan Smith got from the Ravens after being traded by the Bears team that drafted him.

White’s presence at the minicamp avoids fines, but it doesn’t mean that everything is smoothed over for the season ahead. After posting a few videos of himself working out at the Bucs facility Wednesday morning, White also posted a video from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, sharing a message that he would seem to support.

“I carry my scars with me everywhere I go. I don’t forget,” Hurts said in the video. “Do I waste my energy worrying about the opinion of someone else, opinion of a sheep? No. Everyone and their opinion don’t deposit at the bank.”

The “sheep” remark is a reference to a well-known aphorism that a lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinion of sheep. It’s a line said by former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston, himself a high draft pick and young captain who didn’t stay in Tampa beyond his rookie contract.

David’s value to the Bucs is first on the field as a playmaker, but also as a clubhouse presence, as a veteran to guide young players like White, on and off the field.

“I’ve talked to him throughout the whole process,” David said. “I know what type of person Devin is, know he’s ready to get back out there and play football and be able to help us win. Like I said, don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Sometimes that can backfire against you. People can use that against you. … Show your passion, show that you love the game, that you want to be there for the city of Tampa, for the organization and that you love playing football with your teammates. He’s a captain. He’s a leader. A lot of guys look up to him. … We definitely need him out there, and he knows that.”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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