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For the first eight seasons of his career, Bucs linebacker Lavonte David was the best player on a bad team. Season after season, he posted phenomenal numbers and made countless big plays. His reward? Not nearly enough recognition and zero playoff appearances.
Fast forward to now, and the soon-to-be 33-year-old is set to take the field for a postseason game for the third straight year. The 2020 season finally saw him make his playoff debut, and Tampa Bay’s run to the Super Bowl netted him an accolade he long deserved – one that outweighs any honor that is decided by voters. Last year, David got another taste of postseason action, though the team’s run fell short. And after a struggle of a regular season this year, the longtime Bucs captain is ready for another shot at glory.
“I don’t take it for granted. Like you said, it takes a while to get here. It’s hard to get here,” David said Wednesday. “As you guys have seen, this season was rough – it was a battle to get here. We’re here now. But you definitely don’t take these opportunities for granted – you never know when you’re going to be back here again.
Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“Luckily, three years in a row we’ve been able to be in this tournament – but it’s definitely a situation where every football player would dream to be in. Myself, I love to be in this moment. Last year, I [almost] didn’t play in this situation, so I’m definitely not taking it for granted. Obviously, I’m happy to be here and enthused to be able to be here and get this thing going.”
Seven of David’s first eight years with the Bucs were losing seasons. But he was a part of their Super Bowl run in 2020, as well as their 13-win season last year, which set a new franchise record. And while the 2022 regular season marked the team’s first sub-.500 record since 2019, Monday night’s Wild Card matchup against the Cowboys represents a clean slate.
“The regular season records don’t matter. Whatever happened in the regular season doesn’t matter – it’s a whole new season,” David said. “We’ve got it in the locker room on the board, it’s a new season. We want to go 1-0 in this season and that’s the goal. We’re definitely getting prepared – we’ve got an extra day to work, so we’re using the day to put in some things, to be able to watch our opponent a little bit. We’re getting ready to go.”
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Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
David heads into Monday’s playoff game at Raymond James Stadium knowing that whenever Tampa Bay’s season ends, he’s a free agent. He’s a Bucs legend as it is, and there’s no doubt he feels like someone who should have the chance to finish his career with the team that drafted him. Nonetheless, his new two-year contract that he signed after the Super Bowl season is coming to an end, leaving some uncertainty about his future.
In an appearance on Bussin’ With the Boys before the season, David spoke about taking a year-by-year approach to the late stages of his career.
“Honestly, I’m actually going year-to-year right now,” he said at the time. “This is my last year in my contract right now. “I’m feeling good, I’m feeling great. I’m healthy, I’m happy. But right now, year to year.”
In that same interview, David said he had plenty of goals he still wanted to hit before he retires. One of those goals was to cement his legacy as a future Pro Football Hall of Famer. It’s still mind-boggling, but he only has one All-Pro season and one Pro Bowl to his name despite having a case for being one of the league’s top five linebackers for the last 11 years. Blame the Bucs’ lack of success pre-2020 or their market, but he remains underappreciated on a wider scale.
Outside of legacy talk, David said in his Bussin’ With the Boys interview that he also had another statistical goal in mind.
“A goal of mine was obviously to reach the 40-20 club, with the 40 sacks, 20 interceptions thing,” David said. “But I don’t know how much longer I’ve got to play to do that. It’s just how far my body takes me and how my mental is. I’m a family man now, so I’m gonna go from there.”
The 40-20 club may be out of reach. Following his age-32 season, David has 29 sacks and 12 interceptions in his career, so he isn’t on pace to get there. But that doesn’t mean the veteran linebacker isn’t still playing at a high level. He enters the playoffs with 124 tackles (80 solo), 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. And as former teammate Gerald McCoy recently pointed out, he can still play the screen as well as anyone in the league.
Hey NFL on Fri April 27th at around 8 p.m. EDT the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted a small LB from Miami out of Nebraska named Lavonte David. Since stepping foot in the league when playing the Bucs screens dont work while he’s on the field. In 11 yrs yall still haven’t learned this?
— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) January 1, 2023
Bucs pass game coordinator/inside linebackers coach Larry Foote also pointed to that aspect of David’s game on Wednesday while praising him for still playing at such a high level this late in his career.
“One thing I can speak for myself as a player, when you start getting towards the end, that kind of motivates you a little bit,” Foote said. “It rejuvenates you because you know that the end is near. Lavonte, he’s a pro. He still looks good. I really judge how he looks on the practice field and he’s still breaking, getting out of his cuts. I call him the screen-sniffer because every time they run a screen, he finds a way to make the play, but he’s playing at a high level. Those type of guys, when you’re playing that well in your thirties, God has truly blessed you.”
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