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
Funny thing is White "loved" football so I'm not convinced Licht learned. The biggest red flag was the guy already thinking about 100M contract before he put the pads on yet we still took him.
I never thought Licht was the "guy" that pushes for draft personnel and he seems like the GM to delegate and just agrees with whatever they say. Either way still goes on his track record because he signed off on it. Arians loved White and so did Bowles. Those 2 were his biggest fans during the draft process.
Whatever character flaws White had, was that really the problem? Was it the problem that he whined about his contract? Or was the problem that he missed tackles and was out of position? I'll say it's the latter.Funny thing is White "loved" football so I'm not convinced Licht learned.
My point is that character as Licht said is not about who's helping Grandma across the street. We're talking about how you practice. Professionalism, work ethic, attention to detail in practice and that will translate onto the field. White may have dogged it on a couple plays, but more of a problem was not being in the right place. That's practice. Football teams can deal with a guy who's a bit of a jackass if he's doing his job in practice and on the field.
White's failure was on the field and that is character related, but it's a different aspect of character thats harder to pinpoint than just a boyscout type of character. Licht is a great GM because he and his people have been so good at doing that.
Whatever character flaws White had, was that really the problem? Was it the problem that he whined about his contract? Or was the problem that he missed tackles and was out of position? I'll say it's the latter.Funny thing is White "loved" football so I'm not convinced Licht learned.
My point is that character as Licht said is not about who's helping Grandma across the street. We're talking about how you practice. Professionalism, work ethic, attention to detail in practice and that will translate onto the field. White may have dogged it on a couple plays, but more of a problem was not being in the right place. That's practice. Football teams can deal with a guy who's a bit of a jackass if he's doing his job in practice and on the field.
White's failure was on the field and that is character related, but it's a different aspect of character thats harder to pinpoint than just a boyscout type of character. Licht is a great GM because he and his people have been so good at doing that.
his failings on the field relate to his character not his athletic ability. He didn't miss tackles because he was too slow. He missed tackles because he lacked the discipline required to be a good tackler. He lacked the drive to practice to be a good tackler etc
character matters on the field.
Whatever character flaws White had, was that really the problem?
Yes, it was most certainly part of the problem.
And, a big one.
White clearly relied on his athleticism and never studied. He was full of himself.
Dude lacked instinct... Which was an obvious red flag when you are a RB and covert to LB in college.
Licht can point to his character but the reality is YOU DON'T TAKE LBS EARLY UNLESS THEY ARE A GUARANTEED PERENNIAL ALL PRO.
And I'm not sure how he could have thought Devin White would become one given how little he played the position
White while had flaws he was productive when he came in the league. His production tallied off looking for the 2nd contract. There are many players with flaws that earn second contracts and improve over time.
Carnell Williams is a good example because his pass pro was bad and he wasn't known for his pass catching. Despite injuries robbing him of his quickness he evolved and was able to overcome his flaws.
I watched White closely in that pre season contest with the Raiders and he does look more focused now. PC might be the HC to bring out the best out of Devin White because Bowles doesn't have the ability to give Devin White tough love like Bruce Arians did while he was the HC for the Bucs. Bowles is too much like Dungy and there is no Sapp or Lynch to kick a D. White into gear and call him out for loafing.
So from my view without Bruce Arians Devin White is not a good selection but with a Bill Parcells/Bruce Arians coach you can really see D. White elevate his game. Some players need coaches to ride their butts to really bring out there best.
Your mindset and attitude can be a problem. Which it was here in Tampa after things turned sour with Devin White. No real baller is thinking about 100Ms before they sign a rookie deal.Whatever character flaws White had, was that really the problem? Was it the problem that he whined about his contract? Or was the problem that he missed tackles and was out of position? I'll say it's the latter.Funny thing is White "loved" football so I'm not convinced Licht learned.
My point is that character as Licht said is not about who's helping Grandma across the street. We're talking about how you practice. Professionalism, work ethic, attention to detail in practice and that will translate onto the field. White may have dogged it on a couple plays, but more of a problem was not being in the right place. That's practice. Football teams can deal with a guy who's a bit of a jackass if he's doing his job in practice and on the field.
White's failure was on the field and that is character related, but it's a different aspect of character thats harder to pinpoint than just a boyscout type of character. Licht is a great GM because he and his people have been so good at doing that.
And DUH of course his problem was on the field too. However, having this arrogance before even touching the gridiron didn't help when he did not perform well. 0 accountability when played bad in games. We didn't want him around our locker room because of it. So yeah your mental make-up can be a problem AND your play on the field as well too. D White is one out thousands of other high draft cases.
He was drafted with premium draft capital to be an "elite and premium" player.
He was never either, on or off the field.
He was drafted with premium draft capital to be an "elite and premium" player.
He was never either, on or off the field.
It was a bad pick. The overwhelming majority on this board knew it was a bad pick at the time.
Whatever flaws he had- he was a big reason we won the SB. He played lights out during that playoff run. Really thought he turned a corner but he never developed.
Whatever flaws he had- he was a big reason we won the SB. He played lights out during that playoff run. Really thought he turned a corner but he never developed.
There were a number of players who were “big reasons” we won the SB.
And, yes, Devin had 2 “better than his normal” games.
But, that was the essentially the “peak” of his career.
After that, he became an even bigger locker issue than he already was.