The Bucs are NOW noted for prioritizing character in player selection, and, in particular, football lovers, guys who were captains etc.
Part of that has to come from their NEGATIVE experience with guys like Devin White. This was Licht recently, as described on The Athletic and JBF:
In hindsight, Licht believes he was fooled in 2019 when he chose linebacker Devin White in the first round. White was a starter for the better part of five years for the Bucs but eventually was let go. He’s with his third team since.
“Knowing what I know now, he would have been off my board,” Licht says. “It was too much about him.”
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6538680/2025/08/12/buccaneers-gm-jason-licht-character/
In his post draft comments Arians described White as a guy who just LOVES football. He is/was the opposite.
By the time he chose White, Licht had been with the Bucs five years and had a record of 27-53. He hadn’t yet gone under but could feel the pull of the undertow.
Licht thought he might be replaced with a new GM.
Instead, he became one.
That year, Licht studied his misses and identified the whys. He pondered the careers of Bucs greats such as Mike Alstott, John Lynch, Warren Sapp and Ronde Barber, who has become his close friend. Then he studied successful players he had been associated with on other teams, such as Brian Dawkins, Rob Gronkowski, Brian Westbrook and Mike Vrabel.
Each was the kind of teammate who brought out the best in others. They were all accountable, competitive, confident, passionate and resilient — those were the qualities Licht and his staff would be unbending about moving forward.
Licht, who signed a contract extension earlier this summer, believes his 2025 roster is devoid of players who don’t fit the mold he and his staff created in 2019.
Since then, his record is 58-42 with five playoff appearances in six years.
In his post draft comments Arians described White as a guy who just LOVES football. He is/was the opposite.
And the simpletons predictably gobbled up the coachspeak and went on defending White for years.
I’m sure those simpletons learned their lesson.
I think between you, DH, and Biggs you've all made your points.
Time to move on... There will be so many new things to debate. 😂
wanna bet?
lol