Tampa Bay Buccaneers

K.J. Britt Looking to Build on 2023 Late-Season Opportunity

Bucs Head Coach Todd Bowles says K.J. Britt has the ability to play on all three downs, and the fourth-year linebacker learned what he can build on and what he wants to improve during a series of starts late last season

May 28, 2024 at 02:55 PM

Scott Smith

Senior Writer/Editor

For most of his five-season tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2019 first-round pick Devin White was an every-down linebacker, a fixture in essentially every personnel package Todd Bowles deployed on defense. White's running mate in the middle of the field, Lavonte David, similarly never came off the field when the Buccaneers' defense was in action.

For any other off-ball linebacker on the Bucs' depth chart during those five seasons, that meant playing time was limited to special teams except for those rare weeks when White or David was dealing with injury. For instance, in the Bucs' 2020 Super Bowl-winning defense, David played all but seven of a possible 1,346 snaps, while White was on the field for 100% of the plays except for two games he spent on the COVID list. In 2022, White and David each started every game, playoffs included, and accounted for 96% of the defensive snaps.

A break in that pattern finally came in the latter stages of the 2023 season for K.J. Britt, a former Auburn linebacker drafted by the Bucs in the fifth round in 2021. David missed two games in the second half due to a groin strain and White was knocked out for three contests by a foot ailment. Those two absences even overlapped in one game, against Carolina in Week 13. Unfortunately for Britt, he was himself sidelined by a back injury just seven snaps into that Panthers game, forcing the Bucs to press safety Ryan Neal into service at linebacker.

However, Britt returned the next week to full participation and, in all, started three games while White was inactive. White returned to the active list and initially an every-down role in Week 16 against Jacksonville, but down the stretch the Buccaneers began splitting time between those two, with White primarily on the field in likely passing situations. Britt started both playoff games and logged 92 defensive snaps against the Eagles and Lions, to 40 for White.

As Britt started to finally get some real work on defense in his third NFL season, he prayed each day about the situation and vowed to be receptive to any role he was given from week to week. And when he did get a chance to play, he just let his years of football experience take over.

"I just went out there and played ball," said Britt. "I didn't let the game be too big. It's big to everybody else, but when you're lined up, you just play the game. I was prepping all week, moving like I need to move, so when I got out there it was kind of like a byproduct, just kind of flying around.

"I had games where I played, and I had games I didn't play – I was cool with whatever. However the team needs me, that's what I'm going to step up as. I'm not going to try to get too big and do whatever – however the team needs me, that's what I'm going to do."

Now White has moved on Philadelphia as a free agent and Britt is first in line to grab the main role in the middle of the defense next to David. Which means it's now his chance to show he can be an every-down back like his past and current teammates. Can he be just as effective in clear passing downs as when he gets to run downhill and be a thumper in the box? Head Coach Todd Bowles says Britt has the tools to do it all, if that's what the team needs from him in the end.

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TAMPA, FL - May 21, 2024 - Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during OTA's at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Tori Richman/Tampa Bay Buccaneers