Amid Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White wanting a trade, no suitor has emerged yet. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported that on Thursday, April 27, ahead of the NFL Draft.
White asked for a trade this offseason, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, after failed contract negotiations, but the Bucs didn’t pull the trigger on a deal.
Since Devin White’s demand to be traded, #Bucs say they have received no inquiries about the fifth year LB. Understand, too, they have nobody on the current roster to replace him and Lavonte David is 33. https://t.co/FdNFAcaqDA
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) April 27, 2023
Both Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht insisted that White will play for the Bucs in 2023. “Since Devin White’s demand to be traded, [the] Bucs say they have received no inquiries about the fifth year LB,” Stroud tweeted. “Understand, too, they have nobody on the current roster to replace him and Lavonte David is 33.”
The Bucs re-signed David in March to keep the Bucs’ linebacking corps at full strength. Bucs linebacker Shaq Barrett looks poised for a solid return from an ACL tear.
The Bucs also have a young talent in linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. As Stroud mentioned, the Bucs don’t have much depth after those four.
Backup linebackers included Cam Gill, Ulysees Gilbert III, K.J. Britt, Anthony Nelson, Hamicar Rashed Jr., Charles Snowden, and J.J. Russell. While White hasn’t drawn trade interest yet, it doesn’t make a draft night deal impossible.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine tabbed White as one of the “five players likely to be traded” on draft night. “The Bucs might be open to trading White to a team that’s willing to give up substantial draft capital and pay him,” Ballentine wrote.
Ballentine also noted that the Bucs will claim no interest in trading White because “that’s what a team has to say to maintain any kind of leverage in trade negotiations”.
The Bucs could save $11.7 million, as Ballentine noted, with a trade. White could command $20.1 million, according to Spotrac, when his fifth-year extension with the Bucs expires, Ballentine wrote.
Devin White destroyed Mac Jones ????
pic.twitter.com/HR2CIAPNiK— PFF (@PFF) October 4, 2021
The Bucs and White hadn’t agreed to a long-term contract, Ballentine noted, and ESPN’s Jenna Laine previously reported that White was “fed up” with the Bucs. Tampa Bray drafted White in 2019 as the No. 5 pick out of LSU.
