Could Lavonte David Return to the Buccaneers After Announcing Retirement?

Very few players can boast about the career that Lavonte David had throughout his 14-year tenure in the NFL. David played all of it for one team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he amassed one First Team All-Pro and two Second Team All-Pros en route to finishing his career as one of the best inside linebackers of all time.

David retired on Tuesday, but that didn't stop speculation from happening immediately, even less than 24 hours after he actually retired. David seemed to imply during interviews after the end of the season that he still had some football left, and one former Buccaneers scout and New York Jets linebackers coach believes that David would still come back to Tampa Bay if they needed him.

Would Lavonte David come back to the Buccaneers?

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

Former Bucs scout and friend of Bucs head coach Todd Bowles, Pat Kirwan, said on his SiriusXM show that he believes David would come back to Tampa Bay — if he felt the Buccaneers really needed him at any point.

“Of course he could still play. There are going to be things that are going to get tougher to do, like getting out on the slot. Now, if you’re always going to check zone, [David] could probably still do it. But if you ever wanted him to play man, that’s where things get a little rough in Year 15 of your football career," Kirwan said, per JoeBucsFan. "Something tells me, Nov. 1st and the [Bucs] are out of linebackers, they call the old man, he shows up.”

While this is theoretically a possibility, there's no reason to speculate on David's future less than a day after he retired in the first place. David mentioned in his retirement speech that he believes he's given the game all he can and that he's ready to move on to another chapter in his life, and there's no reason not to believe him after everything he's done for Tampa Bay. If the Buccaneers were particularly injured, there would be no harm in calling him, but for now, it certainly seems like David has made peace with his playing career and the incredible legacy he has left behind as a Buccaneer.

Now, it will be up to Alex Anzalone and whoever will start alongside him to try and replace David. The Buccaneers have SirVocea Dennis from last year and also brought in linebacker Christian Rozeboom, but they'll almost certainly try to bring in another off-ball linebacker in the NFL Draft.

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