Like Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David is coming back for a 14th season. The Buccaneers are re-signing their standout linebacker, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reports.
Tampa Bay and David are in agreement on another one-year deal; this one will be worth $10MM, per Fowler. The all-time Bucs great will see $9MM guaranteed on this deal. Unlike Wagner, David has been a one-team player. The Bucs will again ensure he stays in Tampa to lead their defensive second level.
Predating the Tom Brady era by nearly a decade, David began his Bucs career when Josh Freeman was still calling signals. David will match Derrick Brooks for Bucs career duration by playing a 14th season. While David does not have the Hall of Famer’s accolades (partially because of an antiquated Pro Bowl formula involving linebackers), he has been an anchor for the Bucs’ defense. The former second-round pick continues to play at a high level well into his 30s.
This will mark a raise for David, who played the 2024 season for $8.5MM after being at just $4.5MM in 2023. The Bucs have seen David outlast nearly all of his LB peers, and the team that separated from a much younger talent (Devin White) will continue to employ a 35-year-old at the position.
David, who turned 35 in January, has now agreed to six Bucs contracts. He had signed a five-year extension in 2015 and a two-year deal as part of the Bucs’ mass retention effort in 2021. The Nebraska alum is now in a year-to-year phase, having contemplated retirement before his 2024 deal. David was viewed as truly on the fence about playing in 2025, but he met with the Bucs last month and has found common ground. Outside interest was believed to exist for David, but it is certainly not surprising he will stay in Tampa.
David’s one career Pro Bowl is among the oft-changed all-star game’s biggest indictments. Since the Pro Bowl grouped 4-3 outside linebackers with their pass-rushing peers, little room existed for David honors during his 20s. Todd Bowles shifted the Bucs to a 3-4 scheme in 2019 and has been able to count on David, even as the Bucs have seen their other ILB spot change in that span. Last season, David started 17 games and registered 122 tackles to go with 5.5 sacks — his most since the 2013 season.
Tampa Bay’s linebacking great does have three All-Pro nods on his resume, the most recent coming during the Bucs’ Super Bowl-winning season, and has run his career sack total — despite never being a true rush linebacker — to 39. The Bucs have K.J. Britt due for free agency, but David will remain as a linchpin of a defense still housing first- and third-level mainstays in Vita Vea and Antoine Winfield Jr. Moving into third place in Bucs history with 198 games played with the team, David trails only Ronde Barber and Brooks for games played by a Buccaneer.