At his exit interview with Lavonte David after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2024 season ended with a Wild Card round loss to Washington, Head Coach Todd Bowles liked the vibes he was getting from his defensive captain.
David had just completed his 13th NFL season, all in Tampa, and it was one of his best campaigns in years. His 122 tackles led the team, his 5.5 sacks were his highest total since 2016 and he continued to add such drive-altering plays as forced fumbles and pass breakups. David had also just completed his second straight season on a one-year contract, a symptom of his late-career year-by-year approach to determining how long he wanted to keep playing.
"Even though he said he had to think about it [and] didn't tell me anything, he was more upbeat this year than he was last year," said Bowles. "Last year it sounded like he was at the end; this year, it sounds like he could go so more more. In my head, I said, "He's coming back," but I didn't know that. When he finally came back, when we texted each other, it was outstanding. That takes a lot of weight off our shoulders – you need one 'backer instead of two. If you've got to bring two of them in there, it's going to be a problem."
Indeed, the Buccaneers are looking for one new starter at off-ball linebacker in 2025 after splitting that position between K.J. Britt and J.J. Russell in 2024, with an early-season smattering of SirVocea Dennis. Britt is now a Miami Dolphin and Russell is currently an unsigned free agent. The draft may bring some reinforcements on Day One or Two, but if the Bucs had to fill both starting linebacker spots between now and September, their hand would almost be forced in regard to their early picks.
Rather, the Bucs have plenty of flexibility at the position because they have a pair of intriguing options to put on the field with David. One is Dennis, a fifth-round pick in 2023 who was showing great promise as a coverage linebacker early last season before a shoulder injury knocked him out just four games in. The other is ninth-year veteran Anthony Walker, who the Buccaneers signed away from the Dolphins early in free agency, and who also has some of the coverage traits the Bucs want and were largely lacking last year.
Dennis's shoulder injury was one he had been dealing with since college. When it got to be too much to handle early last year, he was shut down and had surgery to try to correct the issue once and for all. If he can prove healthy this year, Bowles could see his playing time increase even more.
I thought we had a heck of player when he was on the field," said Bowles. "We really thought he was making big strides – first, second and third down. He's not just a third-down player. He had the shoulder, his shoulder's been hurt since he came out of college. He got it taken care of. You'd like to see him healthy [but] you can't go by that. We've got to see that in pieces. We think he's a heck of a football player and we also think we got a good football player in Walker from Miami. He really showed some good stuff on tape. So we think we got better there. Would we like to add somebody there if we get a chance? Yes, we would because we can't rely on people if they're not healthy. But if he can come back and have a healthy spring and healthy summer we think he can be a big factor for us."
Walker had 68 tackles, a sack, an interception and two passes defensed for the Dolphins last year and he has extensive NFL experience with 99 career games and 83 starts. Miami's defense had its ups and downs last year but Bowles and his staff thought that Walker stood out on team's game tape.
"I thought he was a very smart football player on film," said Bowles. "He fills gaps. He understood the game. When he was out there, when he was healthy, we really thought he played some very good football. He did a lot of things that we really like. His zone drops are great, how he read the guards and the tackles was great, how he communicated was great. Just his presence about him when meeting him was very good. I thought he really did a lot of things that we like to do defensively, so that kind of helps us out."
Again, the field competing to play next to David could get even more crowded later this month. Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell has been a very popular pairing with the Buccaneers in Round One of mock drafts, while Day Two could feature the likes of UCLA's Carson Schwesinger, South Carolina's Demetrius Knight and Mississippi's Chris Paul. Whether or not the Bucs actually land one of those players, they are pleased with the competition they have arranged for the position.
"Yeah, it's definitely a competition," said Bowles. "I see competition everywhere. We're not giving anybody's spots away. They've got to earn them and they've got to do the things that they did the year before, and probably even better in some cases."
