The Athletic: Replace Lavonte David With Bobby Wagner
March 29th, 2026
Fallback option?
This may not be as crazy as it seems on face value.
Joe would lose a lot of money betting someone the Bucs would not draft an inside linebacker next month in the draft. It seems like the ultimate no-brainer that they will. But let’s say, on the first two days of the draft, the Bucs just don’t like the inside linebackers in their range when they are on the clock.
(Remember, it takes two to tango in trading back. If you can’t find a partner, you’re stuck where you’re at.).
If the Bucs don’t find that inside linebacker on the first two days of the draft — a dude drafted on the third day is projected backup depth. And there would the Bucs be interested in a Lavonte David clone?
Saad Yousuf of The Athletic believes the Bucs very much should be interested in free agent Bobby Wagner. While Yousuf admits Wagner’s skills aren’t what they used to be, he still has game.
Bobby Wagner with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs recently said goodbye to a franchise lifer, as linebacker Lavonte David announced his retirement this week after playing his entire 15-year career in Tampa Bay. The Bucs signed Alex Anzalone in free agency, but they can still do more to bolster the middle of their defense. Tampa Bay drafted David in the second round in 2012 with the No. 58 pick. Eleven picks before that, the Seattle Seahawks selected Wagner, who has turned in a likely Hall of Fame career. He’s not the player he was in his prime, but he’s shown to still have some juice.
Well, the Bucs also signed the Stinking Panthers’ leading tackler, linebacker Christian Rozeboom. So Joe isn’t sure how much more Team Glazer loot Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht wants to spend on the same position (inside linebacker). Signing Wagner would make three free agent inside linebackers signed.
That’s a lot tied up for two positions on defense.
But just from a football perspective, this wouldn’t be an awful idea. It gives the Bucs significant depth and one could put Wagner in a rotation with Alex Anzalone or Roseboom.
And of course, signing Wagner, 35, on top of Anzalone, 31, and Rozeboom, 29, would certainly lessen the odds that SirVocea Dennis gets on the field.
But yeah, this is a deep insider linebacker draft. Joe would rather Licht draft a guy than go damn near all thirtysomething crowd.
March 29th, 2026 at 8:08 am
something about lavonte out, and wagner, in just doesn’t sit right as a bucs fan…………..speaking for a friend 🙂
March 29th, 2026 at 8:09 am
and wagner in, ***
March 29th, 2026 at 8:31 am
We don’t need Wagner he’s washed.
March 29th, 2026 at 8:31 am
I thought this was a great idea 2 or 3 years ago…. Pairing David and Wagner together….
Now that Wagner is 36? No thanks.
Bucs need to use a high draft pick and bring in Allen or Rodriguez or Hill. This is a good class of ILBs and Licht needs to draft one early.
March 29th, 2026 at 8:38 am
Wagner had 4.5 sacks, 89 passer rating against, 170+ tackled, 4.8% missed tackle rate last year. David had 3.5 sacks, 120 pr against, and 114 tackles, 10%+ missed tackle rate. Who was washed? Advanced stats say Wagner was a much better player last year by far
March 29th, 2026 at 8:40 am
If the Bucs don’t want SVD on the field ever – why is he still on the team wasting a roster spot?
He was a 5th round pick – cut him and move on. Who would really care?
March 29th, 2026 at 8:50 am
I’m reading the Jags might have to cut Arik Armstead owing to cap issues, (DT) would LOVE to snag this guy
March 29th, 2026 at 8:59 am
Wagner is past his prime!
March 29th, 2026 at 9:05 am
No thanks I’d rather Get Younger an let them Play next to Anzalone who will be here at least the next 2 years an dude is the Best Coverage LB in the Game I want to put Jacob Rodriguez next to him I see JR being a Stud he does it all Run Pass he Creates Turnovers by punching out the ball or picking it off dude can be the Bucs next Lavonte
March 29th, 2026 at 9:07 am
Do any of you think the Bucs defense would look any better with Bobby Wagner in it? Putting 36 year old (soon to be) sprinkles on a turd is not going to make it taste any better.
March 29th, 2026 at 9:13 am
Think it is time to find the next LD.
Joe or anyone can you tell me how Bowles and Licht think McColumn and Morrison are good enough to start. They both were dismal last year and that is being nice. I would like to see them draft a real corner, move Parrish to the outside and sit both McColumn and Morrison until they prove otherwise. I just don’t get how they think these guys are going to magically turn around this year. Yes I get Morrison is new . However he appears to be a Dean clone injured all the time and plays poorly when on the field.
yes a little off subject. I am just trying to understand what I am missing.
March 29th, 2026 at 9:18 am
yeah i’m imagining “thor & boom” as opening day starters…
and rodriguez and svd as the 3rd and 4th respectively…
and as the season wears on, rodriguez steps in for roseboom at the starter, and roseboom as the 3rd…
and svd….well whatever…he’s the 4th i guess…or a nick jackson or me…yes me – i can be the 4th backer and svd can kick rocks
March 29th, 2026 at 9:19 am
Joe says “would certainly lessen the odds that Sirovcea Dennis gets on the field”. Kenton Smith says “we’re effed”.
March 29th, 2026 at 9:28 am
😂😂 pathetic if nfl journalists were gm’s the game would be trash. Somehow they forget to realize the Bobby Wagner’s of the game were once rookies too. You pass the torch in the draft and on day 1 or 2 their guy will be there unlike edge rushers
March 29th, 2026 at 9:36 am
Not only that Joe, remember Bobby Wagner is very close to Lavonte. They have followed each other’s career so the transition would be satisfying to both players. Who knows we might even see Coach Lavonte on the sideline giving game time insight. Priceless thinking.
March 29th, 2026 at 9:36 am
Would be good move. He showed last year he isn’t done yet and still has plenty left in the tank. And ppl really need to get off the sadiq train. Dude drops the ball way too much. Trade back or draft beast lineman. Get a lb and cb in 2nd or 3rd or CB in first if no beastly linemen are left then line help and lb and 2nd or 3rd. Best player available after that. I don’t care if sadiq if best player available at 15. I’m not taking a te who has drop issues at 15 in the first. That speed crap is overrated. Now if I can trade back to around 18-20 and get a Xtra 2nd round pick and sadiq is still sitting there ………then I take him and hope we can get his hands right. For some reason though I have a funny feeling about Culp this year. But otton is solid. Not great but solid and can still improve. Kieft is a solid blocker. Payne is solid backup and blocker and I think with new coordinator Culp might come alive. I’m not taking a te at 15 because he’s fast. Now if the Bucs know something I don’t and Sadiq’s drops were a fluke then go for it. But as of right now I see a bigger faster otton who drops it even more than otton.
March 29th, 2026 at 9:40 am
football1. I’m afraid you’re not missing anything. I hope our corners look better with a better pass rush and maybe better underneath help (linebackers) and over the top help (safeties). We really haven’t addressed corner at all, have we? Man alive, we have to shake out this defense. Defense Rules was saying a few months ago how many new faces we need on defense and I thought he was mistaken. But he was right. We’re gonna have a lot of guys starting on opening day that we haven’t seen playing for the Bucs before.
March 29th, 2026 at 9:45 am
Sign wagner and get 2 corners instead of drafting a lb high or doing something crazy like taking a overrated te at 15. Corner is our biggest weakness right now. This isn’t the year for a luxury pick in the first. Bucs te room is solid. Regardless of nonsense people say about them. Are they elite, not really. Are they at least middle of the pack, most definitely. Only way I’m going best player available at 15 is if there’s a top cb, a edge that slipped that shouldn’t of been there (and mesidor ain’t it) or if a beast of a lineman is sitting there (og/ot or dt). Otherwise I’m taking best cb.
March 29th, 2026 at 10:05 am
For me, I don’t see a deep playoff run by the Bucs in 2026. Licht doesn’t either since he didn’t make any big-impact FA pick ups. Picking up Wagner would help a deep run, but Licht doesn’t see it.
Signing Wagner might give the Bucs one year to allow this draft’s rookie ILB to develop. It delays the inevitable by a year or maybe half a season. I’m not sure Wagner would play much better than Roseboom while a rookie works into the lineup.
March 29th, 2026 at 10:23 am
Personally, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Bobby hasn’t missed a game in 5 years, he plays all out every snap and would be a good mentor for the younger LBs. But I’m also not opposed to drafting 2 LBs in the draft and hope Licht is able to trade back in the first round to acquire additional picks.
March 29th, 2026 at 10:53 am
I think signing Wagner is a good idea:
1. A HOF guy has always got something left.
2. He’s probably a cheap signing.
3. Who knows what we get signing someone out of college (see JTS, Braswell, countless other BUC draft picks).
4 Anybody that could get Dennis off the field. Maybe trade Dennis for a box of new footballs.
5. Who would you rather see, Dennis or Wagner?
March 29th, 2026 at 11:04 am
Thank you Kenton Smith and yes I hope you are right and maybe so
March 29th, 2026 at 11:04 am
No, no, no!
This team always has a problem thinking letting go completely and building something new.
Evans and LVD leaving is a good start. Bringing in another very old LBer is another bandaid that will give delusional Bowles warm fuzzies about his LBer depth. And do nothing for the future of this team.
Draft a LBer like Hill or Rodriguez and maybe add a Kyle Louis in the 4th round. Then the Bucs finally have a core group of young LBers for the future and a guy like Anzalone with experience and Dennis for depth with experience
March 29th, 2026 at 11:22 am
Yeah, I would sign him to a one year deal. Even at 36 the guy is better than SVD.
March 29th, 2026 at 11:53 am
Not a bad idea. Especially when you know he can come in right away and play and start. And then groom somebody else draft wise to for next year and beyond.
March 29th, 2026 at 12:27 pm
Saad Yousuf of The Athletic doesn’t seem to have a clue how to build TEAMS. Bucs paid a healthy price to sign Alex Anzalone (age 32) to a 2-year contract ($17 mil … $8.5 mil/yr), an ILB with tons of experience. We also signed Christian Rozeboom (age 29) to an unspecified contract, an ILB with substantial starting experience. And oh ya, we’ve still got SVD (age 26) in the hopper (he’s got some starting experience too).
2026 is widely viewed as ‘The Year of the Linebacker’ by many. There are some GREAT prospects available this year. And at Pick #15, and our next pick at #46, we’re in a position to get 1 VERY GOOD ILB if we choose. Even at #46 we could get a starter-capable ILB this draft.
But to go with our 32-year-old experienced ILB and with our 29-year-old experienced ILB, Saad Yousuf of The Athletic recommends that we by-pass the draft and sign a 36-year-old MLB instead. And yes Joe, it is an awful idea. TEAM BUILDING doesn’t just look at the year you’re in as we all well know; it requires keeping an eye on the future. And we need to invest in that future TODAY, not wait until next year.
March 29th, 2026 at 1:31 pm
He’s almost as old as Robert Wagner. If he’s still alive? Hard pass. Bucs need to draft a starting ILB this draft. Don’t care where, or who, but that pick needs to start day one. Dennis won’t cut it. Certainly not Wagner.
March 29th, 2026 at 1:39 pm
Sadiq 1st round
DE or MLB 2nd & 3rd
CB 4th
BPA next Rounds
March 29th, 2026 at 1:43 pm
Beggars cant be chosers
March 29th, 2026 at 2:09 pm
How did I miss the news on Rozeboom.
Here’s what ESPN says about him – sounds like KJ Britt or any other slow run-first LB that Bowles loves…
He ‘was solid as a run stopper but not reliable as a pass defender, ranking in the lower tier for linebackers.’
March 29th, 2026 at 2:12 pm
As for Wagner, the only question to me is if he can still run or not – does he have speed. If not, it’s a hard pass.
But really the Bucs should be looking to at least double dip at ILB this draft. If they can trade back in the 1st, pick up an extra 2nd or 3rd, that really might set them up well for the future as there’s a few good options.
And again, the kid Kyle Louis out of Pittsburgh is who I like the most at the moment – he’s someone that reminds me more of the classic Bucs undersized, but fast, great in coverage LB the Bucs have had great success with.
March 29th, 2026 at 2:59 pm
No do not waste pic on the Bowzo defense.
March 29th, 2026 at 3:01 pm
Rod Munch … ‘He (Rozeboom) ‘was solid as a run stopper but not reliable as a pass defender, ranking in the lower tier for linebackers.’
Rod, you’re paying too much attention to ESPN. Rozeboom isn’t fantastic at Pass Defense, but he’s not chopped liver either. Last season he was targeted 70 times & allowed 51 catches for a 72.9% Pass Completion Allowed Percentage, with 1 TD allowed.
In comparison, SVD was targeted 60 times & allowed 51 catches for a 85.0% Pass Completion Allowed Percentage, with 3 TDs allowed. And LVD was targeted 67 times & allowed 49 catches for a 73.1% Pass Completion Allowed Percentage, with 7 TDs allowed.
March 29th, 2026 at 3:31 pm
This is a player that can one still play. Secondly can help develop talent on the roster for Bowles. I’ll take this over Crosby any day. With our situation of a roster. Has a chip without being a knucklehead. I love Tykee, but Wagner has experience being a captain of a defense. Dude is great any team he plays for. Injuries happen. He could still coach young guys if he were to get injured.
March 29th, 2026 at 3:58 pm
Wagners best.
March 29th, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Well sence were going to have old washed up players and it’s bozos last year let’s just have bozo suit up and show us all how to play defense Bwahaha lmao could you imagine that? Lol
March 29th, 2026 at 4:06 pm
Defense Rules – Well fair enough, that was just a very quick search on the guy. Basically I just want to know if a guy is fast enough to play or not since the KJ Britt disaster was completely predictable based on a simple eyeball test. The fact they’re saying this guy fails the eyeball test is concerning, but it’s fair to point out it’s just one place and I didn’t read anything else about him yet. But comparing stats doesn’t mean much in different systems where guys get dinged for having poor coverage when, by design, they’re assigned to a very small area – where seemingly Bowles wants guys to stand around flat footed and wait for something to happen.
As for Dennis, I’m not nearly as far down on him as others. Yeah, he got beat on some plays – but people pretend like he never made any plays. When White gets ran out of town for not being able to cover, then Britt is ran out of town, and now people want Dennis ran out of town – maybe the issue isn’t the players, maybe it’s what they’re being asked to do, and it’s a stupid scheme. Also, it’s worth point out, with as much as people stupidly complained about White, he was BY FAR the best of the three LB’s asked to play that position (talking post 2021 when Arians left and Bowles went soft).
March 29th, 2026 at 4:44 pm
Rozeboom was brought in to be a ST player and add some much needed depth. Our starter next to Anzalone will be drafted.
March 29th, 2026 at 5:10 pm
Anzalone and Rozeboom may get most of the snaps early, that way we could work our new linebacker in slower. Seattle did that with Emmanwori last year. He wasn’t starting until the second half of the season. Once he started the coaches said he wasn’t coming out. He almost won defensive player of the year anyway, and I don’t think Seattle is the champion without him.
March 29th, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Kenton … ‘Anzalone and Rozeboom may get most of the snaps early, that way we could work our new linebacker in slower.’
I agree with that approach Kenton. Still, not sure where the ILB we draft will end up playing. Will he ultimately be our MLB or take the place of LVD? Might depend on WHO we draft. Several potential ILBs who’d work for us, but not all are MLBs nor weakside LBs. Bowles could very well have a true conundrum on his hands, depending upon whick LB we end up drafting.
March 29th, 2026 at 7:44 pm
Rod … Carolina uses a 3-4 like we do, so Rozeboom should be at least somewhat used to ‘the scheme’. Detroit however ran a 4-3, so I’d expect that Anzalone would have a bit of a transition early-on. And when Alex was with New Orleans before that, they also ran a 4-3 at the time.
March 29th, 2026 at 8:31 pm
Absolutely not! The additions the Bucs have already made in addition to what they will likely do in the draft more than shores up the linebacker position. Wagner will be overpriced for his production and as we all know, injury prone due to his age. HARD PASS!
March 29th, 2026 at 8:42 pm
Washington’s uniforms are as about as ugly as our former alarm clock numeral ones
March 29th, 2026 at 10:31 pm
DR, I think the kind of linebacker I’m hoping for would be what I believe they are calling our “green dot”. I may be showing my ignorance here but I want our new linebacker to be the dude calling the defensive plays sent in from the coaches as well as changes. The job Lavonte was doing, but last year, and I may be wrong here, but I think we were training SirVocea to do some of last season. I have about given up on SirVocea, he just doesn’t seem to have the awareness I want to see out of our defensive leader. I saw your stats and it looked like he was better in pass coverage than Lavonte last year, and man, that’s an indictment of Lavonte. Because although I saw Dennis making plays in the run game, his coverage in space actually made me cringe. I think Anzalone is gonna be that guy this season, at least for awhile. But I’m hoping our rookie, if we can get him, needs to be our playcalling leader of this defense. That’s asking alot to expect so much from a rookie. But a natural talent with the right mindset would expect that type of accountability from the get go. And would only thrive in that situation. I’m not sure if I’d even keep Dennis. Our inside backers were amidst the worst in the entire league in pass coverage and we simply needed to blow that position up. The 2 vets certainly addressed the problem. But we need to repair the problem. And their are 2, maybe 3 in this class that could go along way towards that. I’d like to be able to get one of them with our second pick. If we could somehow get McDonald and either Rodriguez or Hill, I’m not sold on Allen or Munches pick Kyle L. , then we have a totally different animal then what we have had. And that with a good corner thrown in to compete with M&M and we’re still not there. But we’re alot closer. If Kancey and Walker and Roberts can have the year I think they are capable of we might just be pretty good.
March 29th, 2026 at 10:47 pm
And Rod Munch. I do like your Kyle Louis. He is a heckuva ball player. And if Rodriguez and Hill are gone (Styles will be gone) then we might just see about Louis. He’s a hybrid for sure. Some say he’s gonna be a safety. And I do like the thought that he’s able to work in space (cover guys like a blanket) but is he big enough? For an inside linebacker? I don’t remember what the guy weighs but I know alot of scouts were pegging him as a secondary player.
March 30th, 2026 at 2:02 am
Bring him in ..kick the tires…team friendly deal why not
March 30th, 2026 at 9:28 am
“He’s almost as old as Robert Wagner.””
Hahaha nice one bud!