Lavonte David Says He Wants A Payday For 2023
September 16th, 2022
When the many Buccaneers playing in a contract year are discussed, Lavonte David’s name rarely comes up.
The focus is usually more on Jamel Dean, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Tom Brady. But David, the legendary Bucs linebacker, is playing for a contract, too.
He wants to score another fat bag after he turns 33 years old in January.
“I’m trying to get another one. I feel good. I feel like I can still play at a high level. Keep it comin’. Keep it comin’,” David told the Truss Levelz podcast for an episode that published this week.
It’s just about unheard of to pay massive money for two inside linebackers, and the Bucs are in line to pay Devin White big money next season. But it sure would be hard to let David walk if he’s stays healthy. Not only does he probably make White a better player, he’s damn good.
Joe suspects David won’t take a big hometown discount to stay in Tampa, though he was adamant on the podcast how much he prefers playing on grass.
Regardless, Joe just hopes David commands big money next season. That would mean he had a fantastic 2022.
September 16th, 2022 at 11:44 am
Pay him. He’s earned it.
September 16th, 2022 at 11:50 am
He may deserve it…but h won’t get it. No other team will give him a big payday.
And the Bucs don’t have it.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:03 pm
Plenty of ways to finagle paying David like he weighs without submarining the ship. I’m really in no position to cast doubt over the financial wizardry our front office is capable of and nothing the past few seasons makes me wanna say what “can’t” be done in regards to paying David.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:04 pm
Draft a 1st round LB next year, hope he gives a discount he has been GREAT on the bucs but 33 is up there
September 16th, 2022 at 12:05 pm
I’m not so sure SMB will be back next season, whereas Dean will be re-signed I suspect. Tommy touchdown will be gone, so that money will also be available. Other attrition will happen as well.
Devin White has even mentioned how he plays better with David there to lean on. I could see him getting a 3 year deal with the last year being voidable. Let him retire a Buc. He’s earned it.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:12 pm
SMB is not coming back.
Dean will be one of the highest paid CBs in the league if he plays up to his potential.
Kwon Alexander will be available again next off-season.
Devin White might get offered one of the biggest contracts in the league for MLB’s next off season.
I’m ok with letting Devin White walk.
Sign David and Alexander and draft a 1st round LB in 2 years.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:25 pm
Little early in the year to worry about it. Will he be healthy at years end? Lets see these results
September 16th, 2022 at 12:28 pm
Bonzai nailed it … ‘the Bucs don’t have it’. Really doesn’t matter how much we’d love to keep LVD, we just have too many other mouths to feed next year that represent the future. On defense, White will surely be a priority, as will Dean, Edwards & Nelson most likely, plus 3 ‘old-timers’ (Hicks, Gholston & RNR) probably.
For next season, Bucs presently have 30 players under contract for $216.5 mil PLUS 5 others who are UFAs but who we’ll owe $52.7 mil to (Brady, LVD, Hicks, Gholston, Julio) because we deferred some of their 2022 salary to future years. Projected 2023 salary CAP is $218.2 mil. Even if all 30 players made the roster, we’d still need to add another 23 players to get to our 53-man limit PLUS the Practice Squad PLUS incorporate our Dead CAP PLUS set aside some for Injured Reserve, etc. And before we do any of that, we’re STARTING OFF roughly $45 mil IN THE HOLE.
Some tough decisions ahead, BUT … that’s next year’s problem. Right now we’ve got a Super Bowl to shoot for.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:29 pm
Cry if Lavonte doesn’t retire as a Buc. Sapp was losing it, and he’s an a-hole. Lavonte is so amazing on and off the field at 33.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:30 pm
With -45000 in cap space next year David, Dean, Murphy-Bunting, Edwards plus others are free agents and White wants a 100 million contract good luck.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:36 pm
Devin White is not a free agent as the Bucs have his 5th year rights. He’s not “due” a new contract until 2024. After that, Bucs can franchise him for another 2 years. So we can technically control him for 3 more years if we choose.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:38 pm
teacherman777 … ‘I’m ok with letting Devin White walk. Sign David and Alexander and draft a 1st round LB in 2 years’.
And if we did, results would almost surely be the same as what we got from 2015-2018 when the 2 of them were our starting LBs … 25 wins, 39 losses … IF we’re lucky.
Bucs miscast Kwon as a middle LB when we drafted him (much better outside). Devin White will be re-signed.
September 16th, 2022 at 12:43 pm
I love David, but don’t be talking about a big pay day next year after the first game this year. Next March is a long ways away, anything can happen. I much rather he said my focus is on the Saints, and when the time comes, we’ll talk new contract.
September 16th, 2022 at 1:13 pm
I hope David retires as a Buc and doesn’t spend a couple years somewhere else. He and Gholston have been here through thick and thin. Mostly thin until the last couple of years. All he does is work hard and you don’t hear about him or Gholston getting in trouble. They both are great representative’s of this organization and deserve to be treated as such.
September 16th, 2022 at 1:22 pm
Let’s worry about David’s future contract after the Super Bowl win…;-)
September 16th, 2022 at 1:33 pm
I hope we can resign David, but the question is, will we have enough money ?
Some other team may throw crazy money at him we will be unable to match.
I sure hope not!
September 16th, 2022 at 1:53 pm
Agree with Cobra and DR as usual we can worry about this next year. It’s the freaking season…it’s just beginning…and we’re worried about next year?
I get some of the gripping but get used to it. It’s incredibly difficult in the salary cap era to keep a SB team in tact.
September 16th, 2022 at 1:59 pm
Good night, I’m worried about the Saints and
We’re talking about paydays 😏
September 16th, 2022 at 2:07 pm
Just “letting” DWhite “walk” for absolutely NOTHING, & re-signing a 33-year old LB (and wasting a first-round pick on one) is RIDICULOUS… Dumbest Thing I Have Heard Yet, Today.
September 16th, 2022 at 2:11 pm
If Brady isn’t here next year, then it’s rebuilding mode. With all the void year deals the team has been using to get under the cap, it’s going to be nearly impossible to pay anyone big Bucs, unless the Bucs want to continue the void year scheme forever (which isn’t a terrible idea). But if David can get big money, and the Bucs can’t pay it, then he has to do what he wants to do, but I hope they can figure out something to let him retire here.
September 16th, 2022 at 2:13 pm
I think we are going to have a few cap casualties next year because we are going to sign our next franchise QB. I also think that QB is Lamar Jackson. Its likely to be a sign and trade, so some of the accounting is likely to be flexible. LVD likely to be the odd man out in the linebacker room.
September 16th, 2022 at 2:17 pm
All of you Trask haters need to realize, this is the same thread… you HAVE to find a cheap QB that can play or you have to find cheap EVERYONE ELSE that can play. If Trask works out, he’d free up a lot of money for other players by being on a rookie deal. If you bring in a vet starter, someone has to go… likely multiple someones.
September 16th, 2022 at 2:27 pm
This team has top shelf players, AND an elite QB, all handsomely paid. You do not saddle the team with an unproven, inexperienced player at that position, because then you would be wasting all that money on talent that you cant get the ball to. Trask may be the answer, but I have seen zero sign from anyone that he is that guy. If he was that guy, wouldnt you have given him the reigns when Brady retired?
September 16th, 2022 at 2:55 pm
PAY THE MAN
September 16th, 2022 at 3:27 pm
I have faith that Licht will figure out a way to do it, even LVD is still playing at a high level.
LVD and Evans need to end their careers as Bucs. Simple as that.
September 16th, 2022 at 4:23 pm
View from 132 Says:
September 16th, 2022 at 2:17 pm
All of you Trask haters need to realize, this is the same thread… you HAVE to find a cheap QB that can play or you have to find cheap EVERYONE ELSE that can play. If Trask works out, he’d free up a lot of money
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If Trask works out, we wouldn’t actually know that until, at the earliest, the end of next year, at which point he’d have one year left on his rookie deal. So saving a lot of money – that only works if he started early, and he obviously didn’t and won’t.
I hope he’s not a bust, I don’t want the Bucs throwing away high draft picks, but his tape so far has not shown anything at all that would make any reasonable person think he’s going to be any good. There’s a reason she’s still #3 on the depth chart when the Bucs could really use that extra roster spot that comes from only having 2 QBs. At the same time, I don’t know why they think there is a market for Gabbert, and you couldn’t just put him on the practice squad, it’s not like he’s going to get sniped from there.
But as for Trask, when his time comes, I hope he’s good – but there’s been literally ZERO indications that he’s going to be based off of what fans have seen.
September 16th, 2022 at 4:46 pm
Alexander and David? WTF?
September 16th, 2022 at 4:59 pm
Trask is going to be good. He was amazing in college. He was awesome this preseason and he has learned from literally the best QB on Earth for 2 years. He has gotten his Masters Degree in NFL QB
September 16th, 2022 at 6:32 pm
Buccos Says:
September 16th, 2022 at 4:59 pm
Trask is going to be good. He was amazing in college. He was awesome this preseason
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College tape literally means nothing, see Danny Wuerffel.
Second, and much more concerning, is that you think his preseason was awesome? He literally had a terrible preseason. He showed some flashes, in that he proved he can throw an NFL-caliber deep ball, which is great, but otherwise, he was pretty awful and the team was quite bad when he was in.
I’m truly not anti-Trask, but the Florida fanbois are insane with their analysis of Trask. He’s literally done nothing so far that would make you think he has a future as a starting NFL QB. That doesn’t in any way mean he won’t be one, or won’t be good, but there’s zero signs that he will be good.
September 16th, 2022 at 7:50 pm
Sometimes I smile here. I just came from the thread where everybody is beotching about injuries and blaming managment for a lack of backups! LMAO
Here I read trade the most talented player on the defense and sign two guys hitting the backside of their career. One of them LVD has had nagging injuries the past two years and of course Kwon has a surgically repaired knee and is pushing 30.
Don’t get me wrong I have a lot of gratitude for the contributions from Kwon and of course LVD has played great for the Bucs. So did Derrick Brooks and we saw how the Bucs treated him when he got close to the end.
September 16th, 2022 at 8:07 pm
Until I see him or hear him with the starters all this he suck and ain’t good enough and he went to UF don’t mean nothing . You better hope this not another Bret Farve and Atlanta sisuation.
September 16th, 2022 at 10:14 pm
Although I am usually the last to be negative, the end of the Bucs’ good years is almost upon us. Massive money is going to need to be paid for a decent QB next year (assuming the dirt-cheap, bargain priced Brady really retires this time). (Sorry, Trask believers, but he is not and will never be the answer – for ANY team!) All kinds of major players have contracts coming up and the Bucs just won’t have the money to keep a lot of them.
September 17th, 2022 at 1:07 am
KJ Britt is going to be the next starter at inside linebacker.
September 17th, 2022 at 1:55 am
At this point I’d rather keep David for another couple of years over paying Devin the crazy loot that he’ll most likely be asking for. If Devin earns it by playing consistently like he did during the 2020 playoffs I’d make him the highest paid middle linebacker in the league, but he hasn’t proven that he can yet.
September 17th, 2022 at 7:04 am
Proudbucsfan KJ Britt was one of my favorite guys in college, he’s smart and a thumper. In the NFL just don’t know that he has the speed to be elite. Still a solid guy and player, but more of a Minter kind of guy.
September 17th, 2022 at 7:39 am
Lakeland Steve Says:
September 16th, 2022 at 1:13 pm
I hope David retires as a Buc ….He and Gholston have been here through thick and thin. Mostly thin until the last couple of years. All he does is work hard and you don’t hear about him or Gholston getting in trouble. They both are great representatives of this organization and deserve to be treated as such.
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Add HOFamer ME13 to that list. LVD will retire here. The Licht man will get it done. It’s a little too early to be worrying about the off-season, joes.
September 17th, 2022 at 9:22 am
I wouldn’t pay a 34 year old linebacker real big money! Pay him what a 34 year old linebacker is worth … Yes he’s great, but he’s not worth losing 2 other great players because he wants money over being faithful to the team that gave him everything