Will 2024 Be It For Lavonte David?
March 25th, 2024
Looking to the future?
If the Bucs are lucky, franchise icon Lavonte David will still be racking up solo tackles for the team when he turns 35.
(David turns 35 in late-January.)
Only one starting inside linebacker in the NFL is older than David. That’s Demario Davis of the slimy Saints and he’s just 12 days older.
If 2024 is it for David, it is easy to understand. Father Time is undefeated.
However, David has been clowning Father Time. Will that continue into 2025 and with the Bucs? David recently admitted he isn’t sure.
“It’s always an ongoing discussion, especially after Year 10,” David said. “Everybody’s dream is to get to 10 years and then just see how it goes from there.
“Ever since then, that’s how it’s been for me, just depending on how I feel, how I am mentally, how I am physically, do I still have love for the game? Do I still enjoy being around the guys in the locker room? A whole bunch of stuff.
“All of that stuff, collectively. I’m having fun, I’m loving the game, I’m healthy. You’re going to see how it goes from here on out.”
Health is a key. Often (not always) a guy’s career is cut short not by a decline in ability but a loss of availability. Injuries usually creep up more and more as a player gets older.
This will be an interesting year for David. How will Todd Bowles use him? Will he become more of a blitzer on pass downs?
If David still plays well and finishes 2024, Joe wouldn’t be shocked if David is still wearing a Bucs uniform next season.
March 25th, 2024 at 1:07 pm
Probabilities say so , hopefully we can find a player to replace him
March 25th, 2024 at 1:36 pm
Breaking news: Hip drop tackle is now banned. I’m very surprised at this. I didn’t think it would happen.
March 25th, 2024 at 2:06 pm
Hope LVD plays 2 more years. Hopefully that will put him where he needs to be with his career numbers for the HoF.
March 25th, 2024 at 2:06 pm
Injury rate was running at almost 10% from this hip drop tackling technique. Players will adjust and the game will not suffer because of the change. Yawn.
March 25th, 2024 at 2:22 pm
Forgot to add, Dennis may very well replace LVD eventually (or be the 3rd LB in certain packages).
March 25th, 2024 at 2:30 pm
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. would be a nice addition to LB corps.
March 25th, 2024 at 2:52 pm
Can I not comment anymore?
March 25th, 2024 at 3:02 pm
The wild card is, Bowels could render LVD useless in a heartbeat by one of his genius “disguise” ideas. The biggest move the Bucs haven’t yet made is to hire a true full time Defensive coordinator and let Todd focus on his players’ mental health.
March 25th, 2024 at 5:50 pm
35 for a LB that thrives in large part on his speed is really pushing it – but if he can still run, I’m sure he’ll be back.
As for how he’s used this year … I think Bowles has made it pretty obvious we’re going to see a lot guys just standing around in that sloppy soft zone that Bowles has loved to run these last two years. Hopefully I’ll be proven wrong, I’d love to be proven wrong, the last thing I’d want to see on defense is a passive zone that just lets people have 5 yards every play, so they just have long drives that eats up the clock every time the defense is out there. Ugh, makes me stick to think about.
March 25th, 2024 at 7:26 pm
Dave Pear & Rod Munch … Too negative; think positive. LVD had 4.5 sacks last year, the most he’s had since 2016. He blitzed 51 times (an average of 3 per game), the most he’s blitzed since 2020.
Any NFL LB of any age would be envious of those stats and the rest of his numbers … 134 combined tackles (most since 2015); 17 TFLs (most since 2016).
I don’t see in any of those where Bowles has installed a governor on LVD and is throttling down his play. Quite the contrary.
March 25th, 2024 at 8:08 pm
Defense Rules – oh I’m not being negative at all about David, he’s remarkable, and future HOF’er.
March 25th, 2024 at 8:45 pm
LVD will play 2-3 years more. I think he’s said that himself. But, each year he will evaluate how his body feels and whether his play has declined. He said he’ll step away the minutes he think his play has declined, not his desire to play.
March 26th, 2024 at 4:44 am
I think a lot of it depends on two or three things.
1. How does he perform this season for TB Bucs?
My answer probably pretty good, especially if we draft defensive weapons for the top 3 selections. It will help make his job a little easier.
2. How good are we going to be record wise? If we win the division again there makes a strong case for him to come back as we could very well be close to another SB run depending on who we draft. There’s some incentives to staying another year when you know you stand a good chance at winning a SB.
3. Lastly it depends on his health and injuries. Does he want to hang the cleats up in his closet? I mean maybe it’s just that time. Maybe he isn’t as healthy as we all think. Body aches injuries could be a thing. Football it’s a very physical sport and he’s been playing since what high school. 20 years of football at high level’s can get exhausting.
4. Maybe he will stay for fans though and for the teams future. He could come in off the bench on a cheaper contract and teach young guys some things. Maybe he retires though and becomes a Bucs LB coach. I could see that too. In a few years maybe he’s a DC for Tampa bay. Wouldn’t be shocked to see this happen. He’s big in the Tampa community. If he wins another SB in Tampa he’s likely a HOFer imo.