Devin White opens up on dark side of Buccaneers exit - "That turned everybody against me"
Devin White was initially predicted to be the next great homegrown linebacker to come out of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, following in the footsteps of Derrick Brooks and Lavonte David. Through his five seasons there, he won a Super Bowl, was named an All-Pro and Pro Bowler and started all but one of the games that he played.
But during this offseason, that bond ended when he joined the Philadelphia Eagles on a one-year contract. So what happened?
Speaking Tuesday on The Pivot Podcast (relevant quotes start at 1:50 and last until 8:23), White revealed that his final season as a Buccaneer was less happy than perceived.
It began with a trade demand that he had been only hoping to use as leverage to force management to give him a monstrous extension, but it ran much deeper than that.
He had also been nursing a foot injury and wanted to recuperate, only to be pressured by a high-ranking member of the organization to return early:
"I just didn’t feel like I was ready. I felt like when I came back, I would’ve (known), and he didn’t like it, that I wasn’t ready on his terms."
That issue culminated in a sprain in Week 3, incidentally against the same Eagles whom he would join. According to him, the pain he felt was comparable to being stabbed while running, but he felt as if he had to play on to help the Buccaneers clinch their fourth straight division title and first since Tom Brady's retirement:
"I got MRIs and stuff, and you see the bone and edema and all that. But me still not knowing, I said, ‘I’ll be good soon,’ because I need these stats. I need to be All-Pro, Pro Bowl. Like, I’m on a mission."
And for him, that was the point when his relationship with the team collapsed:
"It was already downhill when I asked for the trade... Everybody loved me at first, but when I asked for the trade and tried to do what was best for me, that turned everybody against me. Not everybody, but some higher-up people."
Devin White was not referring to head coach Todd Bowles during rant
So, who is this high-ranking member who allegedly destroyed the Devin White-Buccaneers relationship?
One thing is for sure: it cannot be head coach Todd Bowles, whom he called a "father figure," even showing less negativity about his health than most after he failed to prevent a touchdown run by then-Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew in Week 12 (occurs within the timeframe above):
“He was like, ‘Man, I need you, and the only way I can use you and help you, you’ve got to help yourself. If you can’t do it, sit down.’ So, we decided to sit down.”
Besides Devin White, Tampa Bay has also lost from its linebacker corps Shaquil Barrett, who retired after initially joining the Miami Dolphins upon being released. This makes Lavonte David and backup Anthony Nelson the only members of the Super Bowl LV winners left.