It’s hard not to look up to Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Lavonte David. He’s been with the team for 14 years now, and he’s set a standard for linebacker play that many across the league look to emulate at his position.

And as it turns out, he has a connection to a new Buccaneers linebacker that will be playing alongside him this year.

The Buccaneers recently signed Anthony Walker Jr. in free agency from the Miami Dolphins, and Walker Jr. is a native of Miami. Lavonte David is, too, and not only do the two know each other, they’re good friends — and they’ve already trained with each other in the offseason. Walker Jr. spoke to media on Wednesday, and he told reporters that David was a big reason he came to Tampa Bay.

“Obviously, the respect that he has in Tampa, on this team, in the city, everywhere he’s been, he’s touched a lot of lives and for him to help me get here is amazing as well,” Walker Jr. said. “Obviously, a chance to be teammates with him would be pretty dope and I kept telling him that. He said one day he was going to make it happen. We’ve been trying to get this done since I was getting drafted but [we were] finally able to get it done.”

The two have wasted no time getting to work. According to Walker Jr., he’s already been picking David’s brain about the team’s defense, and the two have already started to compete with each other despite OTAs being so far off.

“They do come after the quarterback a lot, as well, so one of the first things he told me is to just be ready to go, doing everything – blitzing, coverage, stopping the run, all that stuff,” Walker Jr. said. “The last thing he texted me just now was, ‘All right. It’s time to get to work.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, it’s still the offseason [laughs]. What’s wrong with you?’ But that’s just kind of how we always competed, me and Lavonte, in the offseason and everything like that.”

It’s unknown exactly what role Walker Jr. is slated to have in the defense, as he enters a room with David and SirVocea Dennis established in the scheme. But whether or not he plays in rotation or gets some starts, he’ll be playing with David for the first time in his career — something the two have been looking to make happen for some time.