The State Of Lavonte David Address
February 28th, 2023
General manager Jason Licht addresses how the Bucs view their iconic linebacker, who is a pending free agent.
Is there a Year 12 for Lavonte David on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ roster?
Joe asked general manager Jason Licht to address fans today on that subject.
JoeBucsFan.com: Tell fans where you stand on Lavonte David after 11 years with the franchise.
Jason Licht: That he’s one of the iconic players of Tampa Bay and will always be a Buccaneer. And, you know it’s still not out of the realm of possibility that he’d be playing for us next year. It takes two to agree to it. So we’ll see how that unfolds. But he’s an awesome player.
JoeBucsFan.com: Have you put an offer in front of him already?
Jason Licht: We don’t want to talk about any offers or any conversations that we’ve had so far, but we’d like to see Lavonte to continue to play as a Buc.
David led the Bucs in tackles last season and showed he still has plenty of juice. The Bucs, sadly, are $50 million over the salary cap and David is a pending free agent who likely wants at least $10 million for next season. Former Bucs GM Mark Dominik, the guy who drafted David, said last week David won’t command that much in free agency.
Dominik may be correct, but Joe is certain David surely will want close to that number.
Joe hopes there’s at least a reasonable offer on the table for David. The Bucs won’t be better off without him next season.
As Todd Bowles said at the Combine after praising David’s ability, smarts and performance, “Everybody loves him.”
February 28th, 2023 at 6:11 pm
David + SMB > Dean, but should cost less.
February 28th, 2023 at 6:13 pm
Makes sense why david wants trask as qb
February 28th, 2023 at 6:21 pm
Like to see them trade White get a high draft pick and save almost 12 mil. Use that money to sign David and a FA or two.
February 28th, 2023 at 6:23 pm
It should make sense to you as well Oxy.
And no not cents because we have a QB.
Sense because LOGIC DICTATES IT.
February 28th, 2023 at 6:26 pm
I like that idea Allbuccedup. Bring back Minter and play KJ Brit. He is a REALLY good dude and one of those sneaky good picks that should be ready to go this year.
Trade the horse trainer and play the stallion. Britt is really good and ready to shine.
February 28th, 2023 at 6:32 pm
The Bucs aren’t “sadly” over the cap. The Bucs won a Super Bowl and 2x NFCS Championships. We got what we paid for.
The Saints are “sadly” over the cap. Similar cap hell with nothing to show for it.
February 28th, 2023 at 6:34 pm
That makes sense Allbuccedup you could probably get David for a team friendly 2 year 15 or 16 mil contract let him retire ad a buc and go from there.
February 28th, 2023 at 7:03 pm
Brit is too slow to be a starting lb, if Lavonte leaves I say we get the kid out of Arkansas or Iowa. Those two guys are going to be studs.
February 28th, 2023 at 7:29 pm
Crackwise … ‘Britt is really good and ready to shine.’
I was really hoping that he’d ‘shine’ also (because our ILB depth stinks), but I’m not seeing it. He’s been with us 2 years now & has a grand total of 73 def snaps. 25 total tackles (12 solo), 0 sacks, 1 QB hit & 0 TFLs. He’s been targeted 7 times & opponents have completed 6 of those. Not particularly fast with a 4.76 sec 40-yd at the Combine.
On the good news side, he has played a ton of special teams in those 2 years (577 snaps). Of course, based on the state of our S/Ts coverage these past couple of years, I’m not sure that’s a positive now that I think of it.
February 28th, 2023 at 7:47 pm
LVD > White. Re-sign LVD and trade White.
February 28th, 2023 at 8:30 pm
Don’t over pay for anyone this off-season. Let him test the FA market and if another team wants to over pay let him go…
It’s going to that kind of year folks.
February 28th, 2023 at 9:13 pm
Some of you are insane, lol.
You want to re-sign David, who has maybe 2 years of playing left, and trade White, who has a long career ahead of him.
White is not nearly as bad as some claim, and he’ll only improve as time goes on.
February 28th, 2023 at 9:17 pm
I like David…and I like the idea of him sticking around…but he may end up retiring after next year. Then we’d have a huge gap at MLB.
It reminds me of when Brooks stuck around too long.
David is not worth $10m anymore, people.
February 28th, 2023 at 9:53 pm
Who in the world is talking about Britt? Seriously?
The guy is way too slow to be anything but a special teams player, and if you’re down to starting him, you are in fact playing for the #1 pick in 2024. So, if that’s the goal, and i’m not against that goal to be clear, when sure, go with Britt. People complain about White is pass coverage, now put a guy back there who runs a 4.8, LOL!
February 28th, 2023 at 9:55 pm
Buccaneer Bonzai Says:
David is not worth $10m anymore, people.
———-
While I agree on White, the nutjobs wanting to chase him off are just pure idiots. However you’re completely wrong on David’s value. He’s still one of the very very best off the ball LB’s in the NFL, in fact, for what it’s worth (which isn’t much to be sure), PFF had him rated, I believe, the #3 LB off the ball. That’s in the entire NFL, not just free agents. David has lost a half step, but he started a full step ahead of everyone else, so that’s not a problem – yet.
February 28th, 2023 at 10:00 pm
With players the age of LVD who are still playing at a high level, it seems to usually come down to wanting a multi-year deal with some good guaranteed money and or bonuses. They know that father time is lurking and their play may drop off and become more injury-prone as well sooner than later, so unless the Bucs can work that out I wouldn’t blame him a bit for taking a better offer for financial reasons. He owes.it to himself and his family (and he deserves it).
I hope he can stay. He makes others around him better a well with his knowledge and leading by example. And forget the D White trade stuff. I’d guess if LVD led the team in tackles, White wasn’t far behind him.
February 28th, 2023 at 11:53 pm
Let’s keep everybody and let the Glazers pay the fines. Go rogue, Glazers! Dad Malcolm would be so proud. Screw the salary cap rules.
It would be more entertaining to watch that than watch what will come out of Bowels’ fifth consecutive losing season flusher.
March 1st, 2023 at 10:49 am
If they feel he is still productive then sign he back but I still say its just time to get young across the entire team. How do you expect to compete with KC, Cinn, Phil, Mia? All those teams young but with the right mix of veterans.
March 1st, 2023 at 7:32 pm
Trade with the Colts to get Grant Start back.
March 1st, 2023 at 7:33 pm
I meant Grant Stewart
March 2nd, 2023 at 6:16 pm
WE NEED LAVANTE DAVID ( BUT NOT AT 10 MILLION A YEAR)I’D LOVE TO SEE HIM RETIRE A BUCCANEER, BUT ON A FRANCHISE FRIENDLY DEAL ( LET’S BUCCING GO HAS THE RIGHT IDEA..2YRS 15-16 MILLION)OTHERWISE, HE’S EARNED THE RIGHT TO TEST THE MARKET ( HE’S A FUTURE HALL OF FAMER IN MY OPINION..
March 2nd, 2023 at 6:30 pm
ON ANOTHER SUBJECT, I BELIEVE TOM BRADY ‘S NAME BELONGS UP ON OUR “RING OF HONOR” ASAP FOR HIS OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING HIS 3 YEARS WITH THE BUCCANEERS..HE INSTILLED A WINNING ATTITUDE WITH OUR TEAM JUST AS MUCH AS BRUCE ARIANS & BROKE ALL POSITIVE RECORDS AS A BUCCANEER’S QUARTERBACK & LEADER IN THE SHORT TIME HE WAS WITH US…