'All About Team': Lavonte David Describes Return to Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Lavonte David has a legacy in Tampa Bay, and he wants it to include another Super Bowl trophy before he hangs up the cleats or leaves town.
David, 31, signed a two-year contract extension with the Buccaneers this past week in order to cement his legacy through the 2022 season. As the Bucs enter the offseason tight on cap space and with a plethora of imminent free agents in front of them, David's new deal was creatively structured so Tampa Bay can afford to pay other players as well.
"I'm all about team," David explained after inking his deal. "I'm doing what I can, doing what it takes to hopefully get everybody back and go do this thing again. Like I said before, I've said it a lot of times: The bond that we had, the bond that we shared this year, it was like no other. With the coaching staff included, everybody is a real tight-knit group."
David's extension includes a $3.36 million cap hit in 2021 that is both beneficial to the team and irrelevant to David, as he pockets $17.5 million guaranteed at signing with bonuses prorated throughout the deal. David gets his money, while the Buccaneers save cap space immediately.
Combining David's minimal cap hit in 2021 with quarterback Tom Brady's contract extension of a similar structure and some moves expected to come, and the Buccaneers should be able to retain their stars that are set to hit the market this upcoming week.
"With Chris [Godwin] doing his tag, and me signing my contract, Tom doing his thing with his contract, you know, just trying, moving on. Hopefully it will be a domino effect," David said. "Just trying to get guys like Shaq [Barrett], [Ndamukong] Suh, [Rob Gronkowski], [Antonio Brown], [Leonard Fournette], everybody to fall in line ... I don't know those guys plans or whatever, but I'm positive from what I know everybody want to come back. All I can say is just hopefully work out."
An important factor that David returned beyond the idea of winning championships was the idea of playing next to fellow linebacker Devin White for two more seasons. The Buccaneers first-round pick in 2019, White has quickly found success with David at his side and teaching him the ins and outs of playing the inside linebacker position at the pro level.
Now that David is locked in with the Buccaneers through the end of White's rookie contract, he's excited for their production as a tandem to raise to the next level.
"That's probably one of the main things why I wanted to come back as well, just trying to play with him and continue to see his growth," David said of White. "Continue to be the best duo in the league, who we feel like we are.
"Hopefully what's next, we just get some Pro Bowls, don't get cheated out no Pro Bowls, and just try to be a first team All-Pros not second team All-Pros, even though second team is pretty solid," he continued. "But we both trying to reach out highest potential, you know, together."
David suggested that as his negotiations with the Buccaneers dragged on - for nearly two and a half weeks before an agreement was struck - he did begin looking to the market for a "contingency plan" in case an extension could not be reached.
Tampa Bay was never going to let that happen, though. And David - the Buccaneers' second-round pick back in 2012 - had no interest in playing elsewhere, beyond developing a Plan B in case it was necessary.
"Honestly, all in all, I didn't wanna go nowhere," said David. "I mean, I have a legacy here that I'm trying to chase, and I'm trying to stamp, you know, and I'm just trying to win more Super Bowls ... This team, this organization, this city deserves a lot more and I want to be a part of it. I want to be a part of it, and me and my camp felt that everything from both sides was a fair deal, and we went on ahead and took it."
