The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved on from linebacker Devin White after the 2023 season. White was the No. 5 overall pick in 2019 by the Bucs and was a big defensive part of the team’s 2020 Super Bowl championship.
The LSU Tiger was named Second-Team All-Pro during that Super Bowl year with 140 total tackles and nine sacks. He was named to the Pro Bowl the following season when he posted 128 overall tackles and 3.5 sacks.
But White’s play declined in 2023 when he registered just 2.5 sacks, and although he also had two interceptions, the team decided to move on.
White played 2024 in Houston with the Texans and posted just 19 total tackles and no sacks across seven games with one start. Now, he’ll reportedly have a new home in Las Vegas for the 2025 season.
Per Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, White signed a one-year deal with the Raiders for next season, and here is some familiarity there.
Raiders general manager John Spytek was with Tampa Bay in 2019 when the Bucs drafted White, while new Las Vegas minority owner Tom Brady was a teammate of White’s while in Tampa Bay.
White’s tenure with the Bucs ended poorly.
“Never seen a player start so hot and fizzle so fast. Tremendous rookie season, and to me, the game and fortune went to his head,” Tampa sports radio host JP Peterson of the JP Peterson Show said of White’s time in Tampa Bay. “He was a liability in key situations as teams took advantage of his undisciplined play. He became focused on being a $100 million linebacker instead of breaking down and making a tackle. Always going for the big hit and the big play and making none.”
White reportedly wanted a contract extension but didn’t get one because of declining play. He then asked for a trade, but didn’t get that either.
In Week 15 of 2023, he was a healthy scratch, which spawned accusations that he quit on his team. Ahead of last season, White signed a $7.5 million deal with the Eagles but was cut in early October without ever playing a down. He joined the Texans two weeks later.