14-Year Veteran Linebacker Retires as a Member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Lavonte David, who spent his entire 14-year NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, retired on Tuesday. The news was first announced by Adam Schefter via X and followed up with a post from David’s long-time agent, Ron Butler. Coming into the league out of Nebraska in 2012, the linebacker was selected with the 58th pick in the draft in the second round. David made an immediate impact with the Bucs, coming up fifth in that year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. In 2013, the then 23-year-old David was selected to his first All-Pro team, recording 145 combined tackles and seven sacks in just his second season. David’s retirement continues to signal a changing of the guard for the Buccaneers, as he joins Mike Evans, who also departed from Tampa Bay this offseason.
The highlight of David’s career came during the 2020 season, when the pandemic hit, and he won his first and only championship ring with Tampa Bay and legendary quarterback Tom Brady. During that playoff run, David was crucial to Tampa’s success, as he recorded 26 combined tackles in four playoff games with the Bucs en route to winning Super Bowl LV in Raymond James Stadium. During the 2020 regular season, the ninth-year veteran logged 117 combined tackles and was selected to the All-Pro Second Team, the third and final All-Pro selection of his storied career. The right inside linebacker was the crown jewel of Tampa Bay’s defense, which absolutely smotheredPatrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, defeating the then-defending champion Chiefs by a final score of 31-9.
In 215 regular-season games, David recorded 1,172 solo tackles, 42.5 sacks, 33 forced fumbles, and 14 interceptions. In terms of all-time solo tackle leaders in Buccaneers franchise history, that puts David at second behind Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks, who David will be joining in Canton. For career tackles in NFL history, David sits at fourth behind Brooks, London Fletcher, and Ray Lewis. The former Cornhusker ranks above greats like Zach Thomas and Brian Urlacher in terms of tackles, which further bolsters David’s case for enshrinement. With his career all wrapped up, David sits in the top 10 of all major defensive statistics in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Not only will his career be remembered for his statistical dominance, but David will also be remembered for his physical toughness. Despite playing one of the most physically demanding and challenging positions in all of NFL football, David never played in fewer than 12 games in a season, and started in all games across nine seasons in his long career. Buccaneers fans will now be able to look forward to seeing David’s name established in the Buccaneers Ring of Honor, and will likely get to see him as a first ballot Hall of Famer, joining the likes of Brooks, Warren Sapp, and John Lynch, three other Tampa Bay legends who received a bust in Canton.
