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With the NFL Draft around the corner, the The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might move a key player to save salary cap space and build for the future.
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin named linebacker Devin White as a player who could get traded before the NFL Draft in April. White tallied 124 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2022, a down year from his 2020 playoff run. Pro Football Focus gave him a 45.5 overall grade last season.
“A polarizing four-year starter for Tampa Bay, White is an athletic freak who’s drawn high marks from coach Todd Bowles and posted gaudy numbers for the position,” Benjamin wrote. “But he’s entering a contract year and could command near-record money despite middling grades as a coverage man. Selling him would rob the club of a defensive leader, but save an immediate $11.7 million as the team prepares for potentially sweeping transitions post-Tom Brady.”
Benjamin suggests the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, and Las Vegas Raiders as trade partners. All four of those teams have needs at linebacker, and any of those four could give the Bucs draft capital.
The Bucs could also save salary cap room for 2024 with a trade when White becomes free agent. Spotrac projects him to make $20.1 million annually with a new contract next year.
White has 483 tackles, 20.5 sacks, and an interception in his career. He finished with more than 120 tackles and 3.5 or more sacks in each of the past three years.
His playoff performance with an interception and fumble recovery against the New Orleans Saints aided a 30-20 comeback win in 2021 as the Bucs went on to win the Super Bowl. White hasn’t quite matched his 2020 season since as he had a drop-off of 5.5 sacks and 12 tackles in 2021.
White Had a Difficult 2022 Season
Last season, White took heat over being accused of a lack of effort at times, particularly after a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in October 2022. Bowles defended White as did Brady.
Speculation of White’s exit arose in March when he thanked fans on an Instagram post. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported shortly after that the Bucs don’t plan to trade White. According to Benjamin, that could change as the draft approaches.
Bowles Backs up White Again
Bowles backed up White again this offseason during an interview on the “Ira Kaufman Podcast” at the NFL Combine.
“Sometimes we get wide punches and they fake the run fake and they throw the quick screen out wide, and they got two blockers on the cornerback and the safety. And Devin comes out of nowhere,” Bowles said on the podcast, transcribed by JoeBucsFan.com. “I mean he flies across the field; and he keeps it to a three- or four-yard gain. He does some things that you just can’t coach and you just can’t do.”
“His nose for the football is uncanny and it’s one of the best in the league. And there’s just not guys on every team that you can go around and say that about,” Bowles added. “And so for the few plays that he misses, you know I think we tend to beat him up more a little more than we should because the plays that he makes go unnoticed. He does a lot for our defense, he does a lot for our team, and I’m happy with him.”
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