Raiders Linebacker Taking Advantage of Second Chance

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll made an emphatic statement about linebacker Devin White who had his second straight tumultuous practice. He said the player was back and was going to be a force to be reckoned with.

"[H]e was on top of the world a few years ago, and then things kind of just didn't work out one reason or another," Carroll said. "He's back in action now. And he came up to me and said, 'I'm all in now.' And he was dead serious in how he said it. You can see it."

Carroll mentioned how well White practiced over the course of the last two days.

"Devin White really jumped. He jumped out both these two days," Carroll said. "Yeah, he's a ball player."

Devin White, Las Vegas Raider — Jun 11, 2025; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Devin White (45) speaks to the media during Las Vegas Raiders Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center. | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

White thought his coach's comments were important, but he played it off like Joe Cool.

"Where has he been?" White said with a chuckle.

To understand where White is right now with the Raiders, you have to look back at the past few seasons and see what he went through to become the player he is today.

White won a Super Bowl in 2020 and was also named to the Pro Bowl following that season. However, he started to sustain minor, nagging injuries at the end of his run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He battled through them, missing only three games two seasons ago, but he could play to the level he was used to playing.

Last season he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, but did not get to partake in their Super Bowl celebration as he was released by the team in October. He would later sign with the Houston Texans and play in seven games for them.

"I've been a guy who, my whole entire football career, I've never been hurt," White said. "And so when you get hurt and you want to play through those injuries to help your team, you also can hurt yourself by doing it, and I think that's what I did. I think it was selfish of myself, to myself, to put myself out there, and selfish to my team and to put myself out there not just being 100.

"Because at the end of the day, they need the Devin White that could just be lights out for four quarters out there on the field, and I didn't do that."

White also said he was having a tough time coping with the death of his father. He was injured mentally, just as he was physically. He said they did not have much of a relationship growing up, but right when they became close, his father died.

Las Vegas Raiders Helme — Oct 20, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders helmet on the turn at SoFi Stadium during pregame warmups before an NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams. | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

"Just didn't care [any] more, because I finally found that love," White said. "There's a lot of men in this room, growing up, you want to be like your dad, that's your role model, and I didn't have that. ... So, I battled that alone."

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