Lavonte David Not Yet Ready For Retirement Talk
April 13th, 2022
Final year?
Depending who the Bucs may (or may not) sign between now and the first week of the season, Lavonte David is officially the old man of the Bucs defense.
David turned 32 in January and with both Jason Pierre-Paul, Steve McClendon and Ndamukong Suh unsigned, David is the oldest Bucs defensive player. He is also in the final year of his contract.
Yesterday, David was asked if this year is the Lavonte David Retirement Tour. He sort of chuckled at the question and confessed he’s not ready for retirement talk.
“I don’t want to speak so soon about retirement,” David smiled.
David admitted outside of his foot injury he feels “great.” But if David does decide to call it a career, whenever that is, David said he wouldn’t turn the decision into a soap opera.
“Ain’t going be no retiring, unretiring thing,” David said.
Joe hopes that sad day doesn’t come for a while.
April 13th, 2022 at 5:41 am
So, could the Bucs be looking at a linebacker at #27 to replace Lavonte next year? Not sure I have seen a LB mocked to them as yet.
April 13th, 2022 at 5:48 am
Finding another LD is like finding another unicorn.
April 13th, 2022 at 5:50 am
I’m not going to miss him before he’s gone.
I’m going to enjoy his play while he’s here.
April 13th, 2022 at 6:25 am
Linebacker at pick #3
April 13th, 2022 at 6:44 am
Move up a bit and take Devin Lloyd out of Utah. His highlight reel is exciting and you have your LVD replacement , but bigger. Defense can then change nickname=Devin on Earth+since we would have two.
April 13th, 2022 at 7:03 am
Sometimes we take LVD for granted. Especially his coverage skills. How can we ever replace this guy?
The successful modern day NFL linebacker is not just a thumper anymore. He’s has to read, react and drop into coverage in a heartbeat.
Bucs scouts have their work cut out for them trying to replace LVD.
April 13th, 2022 at 7:31 am
A leader without the drama
April 13th, 2022 at 7:49 am
Better find his replacement ASAP … the Defense sucked when he was not playing last year.
April 13th, 2022 at 7:50 am
all of yesterday’s bucs gave good podium on the first day…
it was good to hear and listen to…
everyone also sounded somewhat refreshed and ready
April 13th, 2022 at 8:50 am
Dude is a no nonsense kind of blue collar NFL player you don’t find on every roster! His open-field tackling has been stellar since Day 1. There’s nothing better than a stick by King David on a wide out or running back in the flats!!!
April 13th, 2022 at 8:51 am
If this season ends up being the same for LVD as last season, the Bucs probably won’t re-sign him. He was never the same after that ankle injury way back in October (missed 2 games then but came back too early IMO & never really healed up to 100%; played 7 games then went onto IR for 4 games before returning for the Rams’ game). Reading yesterday that he feels that he’s only at 60% NOW is not very encouraging.
What’s just as concerning as LVD only playing in 13 of our 19 games last season is that he was playing hurt in many of those other 13 games. Kevin Minter played reasonably well as a fill-in, but he’s no LVD and is getting older himself (31). Still can’t see either KJ Britt or Grant Stuard taking LVD’s spot, so Bucs might be well-advised to use our 2nd Rnd pick on an ILB IF that happens to be the BPA at that point in the draft.
April 13th, 2022 at 9:21 am
@Defense Rules… I think you’re correct, unfortunately. However, I take issue with your assessment of Kevin Minter’s performance last season as a fill-in. I think it was entirely mediocre and, at times, quite poor. He’s clearly a step or two (or more) behind himself.
April 13th, 2022 at 9:42 am
KingLDavid54 … Which may be why they haven’t yet re-signed Minter? He’s not a starter, but is a reasonably capable MIDDLE LB … in a 4-3 defense. Outside? Not so much.
I’m still hopeful that LVD’s ankle heals up preferably before training camp. Still convinced that guys fight to come back too early, and it often ends up hurting both them and the team. Unfortunately with today’s salary CAP structure, quality starters make ridiculous amounts of money and backups receive next to nothing in comparison. Thus team depth is always circumspect IMO on the majority of playoff teams. They don’t have the draft picks (like us picking at #27) to create quality depth, yet can’t afford quality FAs to fill backup roles. The ultimate Catch-22?
April 13th, 2022 at 12:02 pm
Dude is the heartbeat of our team.
And he is still a really good player.
But he has lost a step.