Former Bucs LV Super Bowl champion Devin White will get the chance to restart his flailing NFL career thanks to a familiar face.

Needing help at inside linebacker, Las Vegas is signing White to a one-year deal. Former Bucs assistant general manager John Spytek, who helped make White Tampa Bay’s first-round pick in 2019, is now the G.M. of the Raiders.

Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz first broke the news on Friday.

White, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, voiced his displeasure about having to play on his fifth-year option in Tampa Bay in 2023 after his request for a contract extension was declined by the team. White, whose play had declined during the 2022 season, then requested a trade as a failed negotiating tactic. That angered the Bucs brass and backfired as the team cut him loose in free agency in the 2024 offseason.

White had expressed interest in playing in Philadelphia during the 2023 offseason while still in Tampa Bay. After being benched at the end of the 2024 campaign following another bad season with the Bucs, White wound up signing a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Eagles in the 2024 offseason. But White failed to make a good impression in training camp or the preseason and was beaten out by newcomers Zack Baun and Oren Burks, both of whom signed one-year deals for a lesser amount with the Eagles.

White was released in September after never playing a down for the Eagles and was signed by the Texans as a reserve inside linebacker. He recorded just 19 tackles in seven games with one start.

Tom Brady, John Spytek Look To Salvage Devin White’s Career

Former Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: USA Today

New Raiders general manager John Spytek knows a thing or two about reclamation projects. He saw firsthand in Tampa Bay how giving quarterback Baker Mayfield a chance to resuscitate his NFL career worked out. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft was traded from Cleveland to Carolina in 2022, but then became Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback a year later.

Not only that, Mayfield has become a two-time Pro Bowler, earned a three-year, $100-million contract extension and led the Bucs to two straight NFC South titles and is coming off his best statistical season. Spytek hopes that a fresh start – and perhaps a last chance – for Devin White in Las Vegas can yield a similar career turnaround.

There’s no doubt that White has talent. Blessed with 4.44 speed and still young at age 27, White became a Pro Bowler in his second season with the Bucs in 2020, and also helped the team win Super Bowl LV. He posted a career-high 140 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, nine sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

White totaled 566 23 nine fumble recoveries, including two for touchdowns, six forced fumbles and three interceptions in his five seasons in red and pewter.

New Raiders minority owner Tom Brady was Tampa Bay’s quarterback from 2020-22 and was White’s teammate. Whether it was Brady’s idea or Spytek’s, both men signed off on giving White another chance at living up to his vast potential after he wore out his welcome in Tampa Bay due to his inflated ego and penchant for taking some plays off.