Star Linebacker Wants to Retire as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer

Longtime veteran Buccaneers' linebacker, Lavonte David, joined Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi on the Ronnie & TKras Show on WDAE from Radio Row at the Super Bowl on Thursday and discussed a number of topics including his desire to remain in Tampa Bay and one day retire as a Buccaneer.

“Right now, I’m just enjoying this time off. Just getting my body back right. I’ll probably start back training really going hard pretty soon. Spending time with my wife and daughter. Getting the chance to go on vacations possibly,” David said. “I haven’t really got a chance to talk to the Bucs about stuff like that. At the same time, they’ve got a lot of stuff going on anyway. So, you’ve definitely got to give them that time.

“But I’m pretty sure they’ll probably hit me up whenever they kind of settle down. Because obviously, I would love to be back in Tampa. I played 11 years there. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. But I’m not naïve to the business side of football. So, I’m definitely grateful for whatever happens after.”

David admitted that he hasn't heard from the Buccaneers quite yet, but that he understands they have enough on their plate right now with the recent retirement of Tom Brady and the ongoing search for a new offensive coordinator after Byron Leftwich was let go just a couple of days following the Bucs' loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the 2022 NFC Wild Card round.

Lavonte David has been with the Buccaneers his entire career and has continuously maintained that he wants to retire in Tampa Bay - something you don't see much of in today's NFL. David has been through the lowest of lows and highest of highs as a Buccaneer and helping the team get through another tough time would only continue to cement his legacy as one of the greatest Buccaneers of all time. Beloved by Buccaneers' fans and respected by many of his peers, David relishes and appreciates that he may one day be mentioned with the likes of Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks.

“For sure. I’d love to retire as a Buccaneer,” David said. “Getting to play in the same building my whole career like guys like Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks, that’d be amazing. Just to walk the same hallways they walked their whole career. Especially Derrick Brooks, you all know how I feel about Derrick. Every time he comes around, my eyes light up. So, he’s definitely a guy who I kind of want to model after, just be a guy who played with Tampa their whole career and was just a staple for what they do.”

The Buccaneers would be smart to retain David for the remainder of his career. David, 33, may not be the same playmaker he was early on his career, but he is the epitome of consistency at the LB position and the Bucs will surely need that veteran leadership as they head into a season where things will look a lot different than the past three years.

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