Throwing Down The “Bust” Label
March 20th, 2025
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
Yes, they’re still out there.
Two former first-round picks of the Buccaneers are waiting for a job offer, well after the start of free agency.
Neither one is old, neither one has a concerning history of major injuries and neither one can believe this is happening. Devin White and Jameis Winston are looking for work. The Bucs surely aren’t interested — and no other team is burning up the phone lines to talk to their agents.
White’s case is more interesting because at one time, not that long ago, he was considered one of the NFL’s best young players. In 2021, the “Good Morning Football” crew sat around a table to seriously debate the question: “Is Devin White the best linebacker in the National Football League?”
Now, at the age of 27, he can’t find a job.
Why?
Devin White
He has an abundance of physical skills but lacks football instincts. He is viewed as a talented player who doesn’t love the game. That violates Jason Licht’s cardinal rule for evaluating prospects — are they passionate about football?
It took Licht and Todd Bowles some time to realize the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft was a poser. Who knew? He played a central role in helping the 2020 Bucs win a championship and the following year, his peers voted White the 28th-best player in the league.
In 2022, White ranked at No. 64, still earning accolades from teammates and opponents alike who marveled at his 4.4 speed.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Devin was looked at as the best linebacker in the league for the next decade,” proclaimed Chris Godwin.
Shaq Barrett added, “the speed makes him impossible to stop,” while former Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce observed, “he’s a guy that’s constantly around the ball.”
But by 2023, White, unhappy with his contract situation, requested a trade from the Bucs. He was a disruptive force in the locker room and by the end of the season, he was no longer a starter. Hitting free agency, White signed a one-year deal with the Eagles, hoping to resurrect his career.
Instead of brotherly love, Philadelphia showed him the door in midseason. White never played a snap for the Eagles and started only one game for Houston last year.
Labeling White as a bust seems unfair. He was so dynamic during the 2020 postseason — 38 tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries — that he was worth the draft pick for that reason alone.
The bust designation is a better fit for Winston, the No. 1 overall choice in the 2015 draft.
Jameis Winston
Winston threw for plenty of yards and touchdowns in Tampa, but poor decision-making, especially under pressure, led to his departure. During Winston’s 5-year run under center, the Bucs were a cumulative minus-35 in turnover differential and 28-42 on the scoreboard.
He moved on to New Orleans as a backup for four seasons and started seven games for the Browns last year.
Winston met with the Giants as a free agent this week, but his future remains unclear.
“I’m praying for another opportunity to sling that pill and prove to these owners and head coaches that I can be a trustworthy quarterback,” Winston says. “I think that’s the only thing I haven’t proven since I’ve been in this league. I’ve had the numbers in terms of statistics, but man, I haven’t won enough games.”
When it comes to the game’s most important position, trust is everything. The Bucs gave him every chance to earn their trust under three head coaches. He came close in 2019, when Bruce Arians was starting to believe in Winston before two disastrous outings at the end prompted the Bucs to move on.
Even after Winston was no longer a Buccaneer, Licht spoke in his behalf.
“We have a lot of respect for Jameis,” Licht said in 2020. “I thought he did a lot of great things. I would never say, and I think I speak on behalf of the organization, that he’s a bust. I think he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
Licht didn’t say it, but someone has to … Winston’s a bust.
The first overall pick is supposed to get a second contract from the team that drafted him. That didn’t happen with Winston, who threw 28 interceptions in 27 games at Florida State before Licht pulled the trigger.
Winston was a media darling during Super Bowl week in New Orleans and he may have a future in television. That future was supposed to be on the field in front of the cameras, not on a panel show, talkin’ sports.
Catch up on your draft prep with the Best In Class podcast. This week it’s the annual edge rushers breakdown.
March 20th, 2025 at 10:52 am
Both Winston and White are cases with great physical talents but Brady proved mental compassity trumps everything
March 20th, 2025 at 11:01 am
I wonder if we would ever bring back Devin White. We sent him off and maybe he comes back. How does that parable in the Bible go?
March 20th, 2025 at 11:05 am
I knew Winston was a bust after the Cincinnati game in 2018 where he threw 4 picks, was benched, and Fitzmagic nearly won the game for them. It took most fans to figure it out after they signed Tom Brady. Some doofs on here still haven’t figured it out.
March 20th, 2025 at 11:09 am
americas qb lol….
GO BUCS!!!!
March 20th, 2025 at 11:12 am
Devin White would be an all-world starting LB for the Bucs today if he was committed to the work required to improve his game. We see it happen over and over in all sports – A guy falls in love with the praise and believes he’s at the top. As soon as that happens there’s nowhere left to go but down.
March 20th, 2025 at 11:17 am
Doubt there was anyone advocating for the Bucs to draft Winston more than me. I was so certain about this guy. That proved to be my last gasp at trying to urge anyone that would listen to draft anyone in particular ever again.
March 20th, 2025 at 11:20 am
White was a RB in high school, maybe he should try RB/FB and see if he has any success? Jameis should have a job for the next 7 years as a backup. He is better than half the backups across the league.
March 20th, 2025 at 11:22 am
People like Winston because he is a clown but that’s also the reason why home team fans despise him because he is also an immature clown who can’t be trusted with a football. Prime example was when Winston changed the coaches play in the final Saints game of the season. Then he joked about it and said the players in the huddle voted on it. Football is not a democracy. He also had a fantastic chance to redeem himself last year with the Browns and flamed out that opportunity. I think Winston has seen his last days on a football field. As for White, Joe got it right when saying White loved money or making it more than football itself. Bad thing was White pretty much indicated that before Licht drafted him
March 20th, 2025 at 11:28 am
The Soiled Messiah.
Americas’ Idiot
March 20th, 2025 at 11:45 am
Some Guys play long careers in foozball because it is what they love. Maybe it is because they can be around naked men 6 months out of the year. To each their own. I don’t judge.
Some play because it is a means to doing what they love.
Next time Joe is up around Cotton Valley LA maybe he can stop in at Get Live Stables and ask White if he misses the game. My bet it is a resounding No. Get it straight from the Horses mouth.
March 20th, 2025 at 12:01 pm
Maybe, the Bucs could look past the past and give DWhite a shot at making the team at the league minimum, with no promises. But, with the understanding and DEMAND that he speaks to no media during the season and refrains from ALL social media. His ONLY ‘talking’ should be ON the field. It’s the only way HE is worth giving a shot. If he could just do that, then he could really be worth it. We could use THAT DWhite for next season.
March 20th, 2025 at 12:06 pm
Back in the day, John Lucas used to work with players who had substance abuse and other mental issues. He helped them rediscover their love for the game. White needs someone like that to work with him. He still has a lot under the hood.
March 20th, 2025 at 12:18 pm
If White is cut we could put him on the practice squad.
March 20th, 2025 at 12:19 pm
Devin White is missed.
I feel sad for him.
March 20th, 2025 at 12:20 pm
All Devin white cares about is his horses
March 20th, 2025 at 12:23 pm
@MelvinJunior, I believe that when White became a disruptive force in the locker room he burned his bridge with the Bucs.
Unless he shows a dramatic increase in maturity I doubt the Bucs would consider the possibility of ever bringing him back.
That said, I agree with Ira in that it was worth drafting him just for his work in the 2020 postseason.
If White did love the game and had the attitude and work ethic of Lavonte David or Chris Godwin his ceiling would be incredibly high.
March 20th, 2025 at 12:23 pm
I think Diva White is toast. I watched him when he played for Houston. I couldn’t even believe it was him. He looked fat and very slow. He’s like the defensive version of Josh Freeman only on defense – maybe without the substance abuse issues but with plenty of other issues. His bridge with the Bucs is so burnt it’s irreparable. Todd has everyone’s back – Diva shat on Todd. Done.
March 20th, 2025 at 12:45 pm
The Joes had obscene amounts of man love for Americas turnover machine.
Now they’ve turned that love to Todd Bowles. In their defense though, at least Bowles knows how to win the lowly NFC South division.
White is a mystery. Not sure what happened to him. Not a bust since he helped in a major way to our 2nd title.
Winston will be lucky to find a job as QB ever again.
March 20th, 2025 at 1:02 pm
Plain and simple, hero ball QBs can’t be counted on to win consistently and championships… even Mahomes saves that stuff for when it is absolutely needed. Favre won a championship because he had a great running game and defense… other than that, hero ball QBs just can’t get it done consistently. They’re the guys that can turn a 1-15 team into a 9-7 team… but they’re also the same guys that will turn a 15-1 team into a 7-9 team. They just can’t be trusted to be consistent.
March 20th, 2025 at 1:02 pm
This hilarious post made me spit out my coffee….
“Fan of the South Says:
March 20th, 2025 at 11:45 am
Some Guys play long careers in football because it is what they love. Maybe it is because they can be around naked men 6 months out of the year. To each their own. I don’t judge.”
March 20th, 2025 at 1:13 pm
Alot of these kids drive has always been based on earning that first big contract because they often come from poverty or close to it. Once the payday come in the work ethic dries up because they have finally “reached the mountaintop.” There’s an emptiness. It’s what separates them from the ones that LOVE the game.
March 20th, 2025 at 1:18 pm
I will forever maintain that having Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown on the roster did more damage to the minds of some of our young players than we’ll ever know. We won a Super Bowl, but it didn’t come free of consequences.
White was close with Fournette, both being LSU guys, and Fournette’s mercenary attitude towards the game screwed up White’s head in my opinion.
Devin White, Logan Hall, and Joe Tryon. All 1st picks in Buccaneers drafts over the last 5 years. The front office needs to answer the question of whether these are all bad players, or if coaching and scheme are to blame. I won’t blame Jason Licht one bit if he uses his 1st round pick on another offensive player this year. At some point you need to hedge your bets on what works, and Bowles can’t get production out of high draft picks. I would argue that even Calijah Kancey is misused.
March 20th, 2025 at 1:39 pm
I bet CG is stoked Ira pulled out the old Devin White quote.
March 20th, 2025 at 1:41 pm
If you say I don’t judge, you just did.
March 20th, 2025 at 1:49 pm
ME players at ways show they don’t belong with the team.
Their problem is between their ears!
Humble times they stand on now.
March 20th, 2025 at 1:49 pm
Always
March 20th, 2025 at 1:53 pm
Allen loft said it perfectly and I’ll take it a step further both with their skill set could have bin the best to play the game at their positions. Talent is there to be great but man upstairs has to be there to and both white and Winston are perfect examples of talent isn’t everything. Give Brady Winston’s talent and Brady’s mentality and dam no one would come close.
March 20th, 2025 at 2:09 pm
To survive in the NFL you need physical talent, intelligence, quick reflexes, desire to be the very best, and a strong work ethic. If you are lacking in any of these areas, your career will be shortened. Every new season there is a thousand or so more hungry, younger guys looking to make it in the NFL and plenty of them have all the necessary attributes to succeed. IMHO. DW and JW both came up short in one or more of these.
March 20th, 2025 at 2:34 pm
When did we know Winston was a bust?
First snap was a pick 6.
First and last with the Bucs were Pick 6’s.
He stunk the entire time.
March 20th, 2025 at 2:38 pm
gotbbucs – pray tell, how would you argue that Kancey is misused? In 12 games last year the guy had 7.5 sacks, 11 TFLs and 17 qb hits. You want the guy playing edge rusher?
Logan Hall was a 2nd round pick btw, check your sheet.
I don’t think the front office has anything to answer for. The league average hit rate is 50% on 1st round picks, Licht has a ring and the team has won the NFC south 3 times in a row. None of it for lack of talent, most of it drafted and retained.
March 20th, 2025 at 2:53 pm
gotbucs —-
Devin White was a draft pick in 2019. So when we hit the 2025 draft that will be a total of 7 drafts, not 5.
Logan Hall was picked in the 1st pick of the 2nd round – not 1st round. We traded with Jacksonville from 27 to 33.
It looks like one of those picks from 27 to 32 hit better than Logan Hall.
So, high end success rate for that portion of the draft looks well less than 25 percent.
It also looks like we used those extra picks from Jacksonville to secure Cade Otton and Luke Goedeke.
So, not sure that was a bad draft day for Licht.
March 20th, 2025 at 3:28 pm
“BucsMinisterFuller Says:
March 20th, 2025 at 2:34 pm
When did we know Winston was a bust?”
For me, it was when I watched Hard Knocks. The scenes in Bessemer, Alabama were all I needed to see.
March 20th, 2025 at 4:09 pm
Erection
Yup . The cockroaches thing was F’d up.
March 20th, 2025 at 4:35 pm
Brandon captured it perfectly. “Hero ball” is exactly what Jameis played.
March 20th, 2025 at 4:44 pm
Watch the tape from the game where Browns beat Steelers late in the season last year in a snowstorm and tell me JW does not lay it all on the line for his team. Ironic that Devin White ended his most promising season as a pro with the horse collar when he was with Saints.
March 20th, 2025 at 4:49 pm
JayMiss should really consider switching to MLB.
March 20th, 2025 at 5:14 pm
Jameis didn’t work out, but the Bucs were drafting a QB that year no matter what. He looked all-world at FSU. I don’t blame the Bucs for their decision, they tried to make it work, but it just didn’t. Maybe, had the Bucs drafted Mariota, the experiment wouldn’t have lasted as long, and we would have gone down a completely different time line and Brady wouldn’t have come our way.
March 20th, 2025 at 6:29 pm
Add OJ Howard to the list of B words.
March 20th, 2025 at 7:11 pm
Hargreaves was the worst of the 1st Round busts, IMHO. Small and slow, the Bucs took him 11th overall. He made up for his lack of football skills by not wanting to tackle (see the game before he was cut by the Bucs).
March 20th, 2025 at 7:51 pm
How about substituting “worrisome” for “concerning”? A lot of this writing has a load of crap in it cos people don’t know how to use simple English anymore.
March 20th, 2025 at 9:37 pm
Everyone should have known Jameis was a bust when he was walking grab legs out the Publix supermarket without a receipt. Devin White is a real mystery.
March 21st, 2025 at 4:44 am
Sad Ira but neither one of these guys understands why they failed. Jamiss is still not aware that INTs are a problem for NFL QBs not name Favre. Diva was delusional for all but three games. Pay me or trade me? I get bored…Geez!
Sad because there are so many who would love to have the physical tools they were blessed with. I loved playing football! My body got to the point that it said Nope! Not at this level son.
Go Bucs!