No one can deny the impact inside linebacker Devin White had during his time with the Bucs. After being drafted fifth overall by Tampa Bay in 2019, White hit the ground running and put together an impressive run of play, highlighted by his 2020 season in which he captained the Bucs’ defense that supported quarterback Tom Brady and led to a Super Bowl victory.

He was well on his way to following Derrick Brooks and being the heir apparent to Lavonte David.

Continuing the elite play the team has had from the position in the 21st century.

But then his play slipped in 2022.

White demanded a trade ahead of the 2023 season. It was a year filled with ups and downs. Elite play in the season opener, followed by getting injured in Week 3 against the Eagles. The highs and lows ended up being his demise, and speaking on “The Pivot Podcast,” he fully explained how he went from once being one of the league’s top inside linebackers to his exit from Tampa Bay and signing a one-year, $4 million prove-it deal with the Eagles.

“Get Live 45” had plenty to say.

Devin White On Bucs Tenure: “I Put Together One Of The Best 4 Years In The League”

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: USA Today

Right off the bat on the podcast, former NFL safety and current media personality Ryan Clark asked Devin White about the highs and lows of his NFL career so far. White was quick to defend himself about playing injured last year and about his dominant stretch of play.

“Looking at it now it’s just – everything comes full circle,” White said. “I just feel like a lot of mishandled situations, mishandled opportunities, and injuries. Injuries play a big factor. When you put on my tape and you go back from when I was little to high school, to college, to being in the league, I never was hurt.

“Putting together a great resume like you said man, I think I put together one of the best four years in the league that you could. Me and my agent, we knew like, ‘You next. You’ve got to go and take care of yourself’ as far as [my] contract situation. That’s really what we dove in on going into my fifth season.”

While there is no denying that White has played close to an elite level at inside linebacker at times, there is also no denying that his play greatly dropped off over his last two years with the Bucs. While his stats show a high amount of tackles and sacks, they don’t show taking plays off, the lapses in coverage and lack of overall on-field awareness.

This all culminated with head coach Todd Bowles demoting White in favor of K.J. Britt during the team’s Week 15 matchup against the Packers.

Devin White Believed He Would Be Taken Care Of By Bucs

Despite being benched and playing less down the stretch, Devin White was told by Todd Bowles and others that he would still be taken care of in the offseason.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and ILB Devin White – Photo by: USA Today

“After the season, Coach Bowles and everybody was like, ‘We’re going to take care of you. You’re our guy, that’s why we drafted you,’ and you kind of got that mindset of like, ‘I’m their guy, I’m going to get what’s deserved,'” White said. “You start pre-planning stuff. I had some land right there in Tampa, I’m going to get this for my family to be good. And it just didn’t happen like that. Once we get in and start talking to the GM and everything, it’s like, ‘Well, we had plans of you playing on your fifth-year option’ and all that.”

In the hopes of landing a new deal, White first started by demanding a trade to prompt the team to act. While he said “a lot of teams” called, he finished playing the season in Tampa Bay. Tory Dandy, his agent, compared his stretch of play to other top inside linebackers in the hopes of getting a lot of dough.

It never materialized.

“Me, not knowing, I’m like, ‘Alright, what’s next?’ I got to do what’s best for me,” White added. “Man, Roquan [Smith] did this before me. Tory had all of his stuff together. He had all my stats, Fred Warner. He was showing me how he was going to break it down to present to them for a contract. We didn’t even get there. They just said, ‘We’ve got plans for you, and that was to play under your fifth-year option.'” He told me that over the phone, I said ‘I want to hear it from them.’

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

White then headed back down to Tampa Bay, and while he said Bowles supported him in the face-to-face meeting, the front office did not.

“So I bought my own plane ticket, went back to Tampa, and talked to Coach Bowles and Jason Licht, and Jason reiterated it to me. At that point, it’s out of the head coach’s hands. He doesn’t control the contracts. He let it be known in front of [them], ‘That’s my player, that’s who I want.’ Ultimately, the most respect to him as always. He really stood on the table behind closed doors and in my face.”

In the end, the Bucs decided to let him go. Devin White then decided to sign with the Eagles, doing the best for him. In his mind, he did the best he could after getting injured last season, but it was not enough to be re-signed by the team that drafted him highly.

Whether it was due to the injury or a decline in play that led to his downfall last season is something that White will answer in 2024, one way or the other.