Is ILB David Going To Retire As A Buc?

The Bucs have a lot of tough decisions and tasks to make this offseason. One of the choices they have to figure out is the inside linebacker position and if they can re-sign veteran team captain Lavonte David.

The longest-tenured Buc is a free agent heading into this offseason. He’s coming off of a year where he was fully healthy, playing in every regular season game and Tampa Bay’s playoff game as well. While David might not be making all of the splash plays and creating turnovers like when he was an All-Pro caliber player years ago, he’s still a very consistent player and a man that his teammates look up to.

David tied for the team lead with 124 tackles, sharing it with fellow inside linebacker and protege Devin White. He also had three sacks, one forced fumble, one sack and five pass breakups. He’s spent his whole career in Tampa Bay, but this offseason is a different situation than usual.

Does David want to retire as a Buc?

“Of course, of course. Who wouldn’t?” David said. “They trusted me for 11 years. I’ve been a captain eight or nine of those 11 years. I definitely enjoy my time here and would love to finish my career here. But like I said, just got a lot to think about. I’m just going to take this time to embrace the moment, the free time that I have, spend time with my family and go from there.”