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The Denver Broncos have been one of the NFL’s surprises through the first part of the 2024 regular season simply by going .500 — their 3-3 record headed into Week 7 is ahead of where even the most optimistic pundits thought they might be.
The biggest reason the Broncos are keeping their heads above water has been their defense, but even that might need an upgrade according to Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine, who thinks they should sign former Super Bowl champion and NFL All-Pro linebacker Devin White.
White was recently released by the Philadelphia Eagles after signing a 1-year, $4 million free-agent contract in the offseason but not being put on the active roster through the first 5 games.
“Denver’s defense has allowed the Broncos to remain competitive even with an offense that has struggled at times with rookie Bo Nix under center,” Ballentine wrote. “Sustaining that level of defense has become more difficult with injuries at the linebacker position. Drew Sanders went on the PUP list before the season started, and Alex Singleton was added to the injured reserve list. The Eagles recently released Devin White. He didn’t make their active roster in any of their games this season, but he’s a former Pro Bowler whose athleticism has at least given him a chance to make some splash plays.”
White Was One of NFL’s Elite Linebackers
White was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2019 after the Buccaneers selected him No. 5 overall in the 2019 NFL draft. He won a Super Bowl, was named NFL All-Pro in 2020 and was a Pro Bowler in 2021.
That’s why the drop off in his play was so pronounced — and somewhat unexplicable.
In 2022, White missed a career-high 16 tackles and was targeted heavily in the passing game, where he gave up a whopping 120.5 passer rating.
White went into the offseason ahead of the 2023 season looking for a contract extension that would make him one of the NFL’s highest-paid inside linebackers. The Buccaneers opted to pick up the fifth-year option on his contract, which paid him $11.7 million in 2023 and the Buccaneers flatly refused to trade him
White had his worst season as a pro in 2023. He missed a career-high 3 games and finished with a career-low 83 tackles.
White Wanted to be ‘Dominant’ With Eagles
White was vocal about taking less money to play in Philadelphia in 2024, where he thought he could eventually be a “dominant” player again.
“Rather taking such and such with another team that don’t have the pieces around to even allow me to become even better,” White told The Pivot podcast on Aug. 6. “For me, I know I have to rebuild myself and show I can be that dominant middle linebacker … to be on a great team that’s going to be great in the future and I want to be around long term.”
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Eagles had soured on White long before the season started.
“(Philadelphia) explored trading (White) in preseason,” Fowler wrote on his official X account on October 8. “It just didn’t work out for the former Pro Bowler in Philly.”