ESPN Projects Conclusion to Devin White-Buccaneers Standoff
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It's been over a month since Buccaneers' star linebacker Devin White requested a trade from the franchise in lieu of playing out the fifth year of his rookie deal. Tampa Bay has yet to budge an inch to this point with General Manager Jason Licht noting he has no plans to trade White while linebackers coach Larry Foote said his prodigy is dealing with "champagne problems".
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For good measure, head coach Todd Bowles stated that he hasn't spoken with White and that both parties understand where the other one stands. Those aren't exactly promising updates with the franchise approaching a crucial summer.
Is it still possible that the two sides could come to an amicable solution rather than letting this situation continue to linger? Maybe.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell recently projected post-NFL Draft moves for teams around the league. With Tampa Bay and White coming off disappointing seasons, Barnwell believes the "most likely" outcome is for the two to stick together.
"White is eligible for a contract extension and has an impressive résumé, but he plays a position the league doesn't typically value at a high level, he's coming off of a disappointing season, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in dire cap straits after the Tom Brady era. This is the exact recipe for a frustrated negotiation and a trade request, which is what happened just before the draft."
"The franchise tag for linebackers includes some edge rushers and is projected to come in at more than $20 million for 2024, which would be more than any off-ball linebacker in football is getting. I'm not sure White would get that much in terms of Year 1 salary on the open market, and the Bucs might not be in position to offer that much on a franchise tag. Other teams know that, too, which is why interest in White might be tepid. The most likely scenario is that the two sides will come together and find common ground on a new deal, especially if White plays well early in 2023. If the Buccaneers collapse and think White's going to leave in free agency, though, he could end up being offered for trades before the midseason deadline."
It would certainly be an interesting and surprising outcome if the Buccaneers and White are able to get things back on track. Normally when trade requests of this nature go public, there's no turning back. That doesn't necessarily have to be the case here.
We've already seen the drama between the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson in the limelight. Ultimately, Jackson ended up signing a contract extension to stick with the franchise that selected him despite ongoing chaos at the time.
White is clearly trying to put himself in the best position to get paid as enters his second contract at the professional level. That could still be with the Buccaneers depending on how the next couple of months shake out. The team can still choose to release or deal White leading up to the deadline in November.
The Louisiana native was named second-team All-Pro in 2020 and earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2021. Since being selected by Tampa Bay in 2019, he's started in all 62 of his appearances and totaled 483 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries, one interception, and two defensive touchdowns.
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