Lavonte David has played 13 seasons in the NFL, all for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Only two men have put on a Tampa Bay uniform in more seasons than David, and they are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Cornerback Rondé Barber is the longest-tenured Buccaneer ever, with 16 seasons in Tampa, and linebacker Derrick Brooks is second with 14.
There are plenty of other numbers that could be used to measure the impact that David has had on the NFL's 27th franchise (see below for his Career Accomplishments), but the note above is sufficient to illustrate what he has meant to the Buccaneers. He is one of the most beloved players in team history, and one of the most accomplished, and he may not be done yet.
At the end of his 13th season, after the Buccaneers were bounced from the playoffs by the ascendant Washington Commanders, David stood at his locker at the AdventHealth Training Center and told reporters that he hadn't yet thought about what his future as a player holds. He was looking forward to relaxing and spending more time with his daughter, but he wasn't yet ready to figure out how he feels about playing in 2025. This is nothing new for David, who has played his last four seasons on one, one and two-year contracts, indicating that he is at the point where he is weighing his future on an annual basis. Given that each of the last three times he has chosen to keep playing he has proved unequivocally that he can still perform at a high level, it's likely the Bucs will be eager to work out another deal if he choose to play at least one more season.
It's notable that while the Buccaneers' playoff run didn't last nearly as long as the team had hoped this past season, it was the fifth straight season in which Tampa Bay made it into the postseason dance. David didn't get to taste the playoffs until his ninth season but he has since become a critical factor in the longest run of success in team history. The Bucs had never before made the playoffs in five straight seasons, and they had never before won division titles in four straight seasons, as they have done since 2021. The Buccaneers believe they are poised to continue that success in 2025, and perhaps that shot at another Super Bowl run will factor into David's eventual decision.
David is one of 23 players from the Bucs' 2024 roster who are on pace to become unrestricted free agents if they don't get a new deal done before the start of the 2025 league year in March, a list that grew by one when the team declined their second-year option on safety Jordan Whitehead. Some of the players we'll examine prior to the free agency start date of March 12 could get a new deal to stay in Tampa before that deadline. It's likely some of them will not be back, or will at least see what's available in free agency. This is the full schedule of our 2025 Free Agent Focus rundown:
February 12: WR Chris Godwin
February 14: QB Kyle Trask
February 19: OLB Anthony Nelson
February 26: C Robert Hainsey
February 28: WR Sterling Shepard
March 3: OLB Shaquil Barrett
March 4: LB Lavonte David
March 5: G Ben Bredeson
March 6: OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
March 7: LB K.J. Britt
This list is subject to change based on potential roster moves in the coming weeks. Today we look at a player who has become the heart and soul of a franchise for more than a decade.
Player: Lavonte David
Position: Linebacker
Age at the Start of the 2024 Season: 35
Experience: Entering 14th NFL season
How Acquired: Drafted in the second round (58th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Nebraska. The Buccaneers traded a fourth-round pick to Houston to move up 10 spots to get in position to draft David.
Previous Contract(s): As a second-round pick in 2012, David originally signed the standard four-year contract presented to all players picked after the first round. That deal was meant to run through the 2015 season, but the Buccaneers signed the standout defender to a five-year extension that covered the 2015 season and lasted through 2020. After completing that contract, David again re-upped with the Buccaneers' inking a two-year deal in 2021. In both 2023 and 2024, David returned to Tampa Bay on one-year pacts.
Rank in Pro Football Focus **Top 150 NFL Free Agents** for 2025: 67. PFF comment: "David is finally starting to show some signs of slowing down after a decade as perhaps the most underrated linebacker in the NFL, with sideline-to-sideline abilities that rivaled any player at the second level of a defense. That said, in the wild-card round, he was one-on-one to the boundary with Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, one of the fastest and shiftiest players in the NFL, and chased him down for a loss, showing he still has some serious juice when it counts.
2024 Performance: David didn't just stick around for a ceremonial victory lap in 2024; rather, he had one of his best seasons in a while and remained among the game's best at his position. His 5.5 sacks were his most since 2016 and his three forced fumbles were his most since 2020. He led the team with 122 tackles – hitting triple digits for the 11th time in 13 seasons – and also added an interception, six passes defensed, nine tackles for loss and six passes defensed.
David played in and started all 17 games and has only missed two contests over the last three seasons combined. He and the Atlanta Falcons' Kaden Ellis were the only two players in the NFL in 2024 to record 100 or more tackles and at least 5.0 sacks. David was named an alternate for the Pro Bowl games at the end of the 2024 season.
David continued to lead the defense in the playoffs, racking up eight tackles and a sack of star rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels in the Wild Card round loss to Washington.
Career Accomplishments: David has started all 198 regular season games in which he has played, and all 10 playoff contests he has been a part of. His games and starts totals in the regular season are both third in team history behind Barber (241, 232) and Brooks (224, 221).
David's robust career stats line includes 1,600 tackles, 39.0 sacks, 171 tackles for loss, 31 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries, 13 interceptions and 70 passes defensed. He ranks second in franchise history in tackles, first in both forced fumbles and fumble recoveries and tied for sixth in sacks. The only linebacker in Bucs history with more interceptions is Brooks.
David has been one of the best linebackers of his generation. He currently ranks second among all active players in tackles, first in solo tackles (1,160), second in tackles for loss, first in fumble recoveries and third in forced fumbles. Among active linebackers he is tied for first in interceptions and second in passes defensed. Since the NFL actively began tracking tackles in 1994, David is one of just four players to amass 1,500-plus tackles, 35.0-plus sacks and 10-plus interceptions, joining Bobby Wagner, Ray Lewis and London Fletcher.
In 2024, David was elected as a team captain by his teammates for the 11th year in a row. Though he has been criminally underrate throughout his career in terms of postseason awards due largely to positional groupings, David was a first-team Associated Press All-Pro in 2013 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015. He has also been named a second-team AP All-Pro in two other seasons.
Other Potential Free Agent Outside Linebackers/Edge Rushers: Dre Greenlaw (49ers), Zack Baun (Eagles), Nick Bolton (Chiefs), Bobby Wagner (Commanders), Ernest Jones (Seahawks), Jamien Sherwood (Jets), Robert Spillane (Raiders), Tyrel Dodson (Dolphins), Eric Kendricks (Cowboys), Elandon Roberts (Steelers), Devin Bush (Browns), Kyzir White (Cardinals), Derrick Barnes (Lions), Cody Barton (Broncos), Jerome Baker (Titans)
Top Outside Linebacker/Edge Rusher Prospects in 2025 NFL Draft: Jihaad Campbell (Alabama), Demetrius Knight (South Carolina), Carson Schwesinger (UCLA), Jalon Walker (Georgia), Chris Paul (Mississippi), Jeffrey Bassa (Oregon), Barrett Carter (Clemson), Jack Kiser (Notre Dame), Kobe King (Penn State), Cody Simpon (Ohio State), Cody Lindenberg (Minnesota), Danny Statusman (Oklahoma), Jay Higgins (Iowa)
