Bruce Arians Gives Bold Bucs Take Regarding Mike Evans, Lavonte David

It was a rough offseason for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as far as franchise legends are concerned. The team lost two of them — wide receiver Mike Evans and linebacker Lavonte David.

Evans will still play, just not for the Buccaneers. He signed a three-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers, and he's set to move on over to the other Bay in hopes of winning another Super Bowl to close out his career. David, meanwhile, hung up his cleats after an illustrious 14-year career and is heading to retirement.

Both players are impactful, and both will be missed. But former Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, who coached both players, gave his take on who the Buccaneers will miss more on a recent podcast appearance.

Bruce Arians says Lavonte David will be harder to replace than Mike Evans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Arians said that the Buccaneers would likely miss David more of the two, and that the defensive side of the ball should be the priority heading into 2026.

“Lavonte will be the harder one to replace,” Arians said on the Bleav network, per JoeBucsFan. “But I think Todd is going to do a great job of revamping the defense. We gave up too many leads last year, and we’ve got to do a better job of that.”

The take is an interesting one, but it makes sense. Evans leaves behind a wide receiver room of Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan, all of whom are very capable wideouts who can pick up where he left off. David, however, leaves a void at off-ball linebacker, and one that still needs to be replaced even after the offseason addition of Alex Anzalone from the Detroit Lions. David knew Bowles' defense and his playcalling tendencies, and overall, he may be tougher to replace.

That being said, it is an offensive league, and Evans was far more impactful when healthy than David was. David lost a step in pass coverage last season, and while Evans was hurt for most of the year, he showcased his dominance well whenever he was in the game. Evans returned from a collarbone break against the Atlanta Falcons and immediately put up 132 yards receiving.

Overall, both players will be missed in Tampa Bay. But which one will be harder to replace remains to be seen, and we'll get a better idea when the Buccaneers kick off their season this fall.

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