Apparently wanting a contract extension now instead of playing on his fifth-year option, Bucs inside linebacker Devin White just laid his cards on the table, requesting a trade. ESPN’s Jenna Laine was the first to break the story.

Unfortunately for White, he doesn’t have a winning hand.

The Bucs picked up his fifth-year option last year and he’s scheduled to make $11.706 million this season. Tampa Bay expects White to play for the team this year and does not plan on extending his contract this offseason, which I wrote about in last week’s SR’s Fab 5 column (see Fab 3 section).

The team has no desire to trade him, either.

The Bucs would be interested in entertaining White’s contract demand of being the highest-paid inside linebacker – which means making north of the $20 million per season that Baltimore’s Raquon Smith makes with his new deal. But Tampa Bay wants to see White play more consistent football in 2023 before that happens.

White doesn’t want to wait.

He wants his money – or apparently he wants out.

Devin White Doesn’t Have Much Trade Value

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians, LB Devin White and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If you think Devin White, who was the fifth overall pick in 2019, could fetch a first-round pick for Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht in a trade you’re dreaming. Even Roquan Smith, who is a much more consistent linebacker, was only dealt for a second and a fifth-round pick last year.

Smith is coming off a first-team All-Pro season in 2022. White didn’t make the Pro Bowl last year after making it for the first time in 2021 as an alternate.

The NFL is – and always will be – a “what have you done for me lately?” league, and Smith is clearly the better linebacker of the two right now.

He deserves to be the highest-paid linebacker. White does not.

White isn’t even the team’s second-best inside linebacker.

The reality is that White doesn’t have much trade value – surely not as much as the Bears received for Smith. Any team that might be interested in White has to be alarmed that the Bucs want to see him play his fifth-year option before extending his contract. Remember, the Bucs drafted White fifth overall and have a head coach in Todd Bowles that simply adores him.

If I’m another NFL team and I see the Bucs’ hesitation with White – and Tampa Bay knows him better than any outside team – that would give my organization pause for wanting to deal for him. And if my team was interested in trading for him, I would be hesitant to part ways with a premium pick over the Bucs’ own hesitancy towards White. Especially since Tampa Bay had no issue with extending Vita Vea’s contract before his fifth-year option.

If a trade were to happen it would take a premium pick to get any deal done. Anything less, and the Bucs surely wouldn’t even entertain the idea.

Devin White Overplayed His Hand

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and LB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

For Devin White to want to leave a situation where he’s a team captain and such a great scheme fit for Todd Bowles, whom he has called a father figure – just for money? Well, what type of guy is he?

What type of character does he have? Is Devin White the right fit for my locker room? When another linebacker leapfrogs Devin White in annual salary, will he want to be traded away from my franchise too in a couple of years if my team doesn’t meet his contract demands?

Those are the questions that NFL teams that are even thinking about trading for White have to be asking themselves. Because a long-term contract worth north of $20 million a year is a steep price to pay.

Very steep.

These are questions and scenarios White likely didn’t consider before he requested his trade, and he’s overplayed his hand as a result.

He’s asking for a trade and his trade demands – to be the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL – are simply unreasonable right now.

Don’t believe me? Do you see the line of NFL teams waiting to trade for Lamar Jackson, who wants out of Baltimore because the Ravens won’t give him a fully-guaranteed contract?

Yeah, me neither.

And Jackson is a former NFL MVP and a two-time Pro Bowler, in addition to playing a much more important position.

No team is going to want to trade for White without extending his contract immediately and making him the highest-paid linebacker. Otherwise, they would be only renting White for a year and giving up a premium pick in exchange before he hits free agency in 2024.

So trading White becomes a very tricky situation. It would take a team not only willing to immediately give White more money than the Ravens gave Smith but also be willing to meet the Bucs’ compensation demands, which would likely be high.

That’s a tough needle to thread, especially for a linebacker who had a lowly 45.5 Pro Football Focus grade last year. That was actually the second-highest grade of his career. White had a 51.9 grade as a rookie in 2019.

What If The Bucs Considered Trading Devin White?

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers

What might help the Bucs, should they end up wanting to part ways with White, is that this is a down year for linebackers in the draft. There may not be an inside linebacker taken in the first round, and the position isn’t terribly deep with talent overall. Simply put, it’s a bad year to need a linebacker in the draft.

So the lack of quality linebackers in this year’s draft and those left in free agency might muster up some mild demand for White.

But the extra draft pick the Bucs could fetch for him might have to be turned around and used on White’s replacement. Replacing a four-year starter with a rookie in the middle of Tampa Bay’s defense will not make Bowles a happy man, especially when he’s entering a year where he might be on the hot seat. And the Bucs would have to pray they land on a quality rookie too – and not a bust.

The list of quality free-agent linebackers available right now – a month after the start of free agency – is too short and too expensive.

The Bucs may have to worry about replacing Lavonte David after the 2023 season when he turns 34. Finding two high-level starting linebackers for the 2024 season now becomes a serious endeavor for Licht and Bowles if White is traded away.

Right now, Devin White is worth more to the Bucs than just a draft pick. He’s a team captain and a key piece in Bowles’ game of chess on defense. Few linebackers have the speed and blitzing ability to rack up the sacks like White, who has 20.5 career QB captures in four years.

The Bucs were fortunate to get David back for another year because the team doesn’t have another starting-caliber linebacker on the roster to replace him. K.J. Britt is a good backup and special teamer but hasn’t shown the ability or the athleticism for anything more.

Replacing White, a 25-year-old linebacker with plenty of athleticism and upside, would be tough, especially for a team that already has a lot of pressing needs at offensive tackle, outside linebacker, slot DB, and safety.

The Bucs Hold All The Cards

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

In the end, the Bucs hold all the cards. They don’t seem eager to trade him, and if White decides to sit out the 2023 season, then he doesn’t accrue a year toward free agency. He would be right back in this exact same situation at age 26 – having to play on a fifth-year option for Tampa Bay in 2024.

And without playing a down in 2023.

Unless the Bucs find a team reckless and stupid enough to make White the league’s highest-paid linebacker right now and give up premium draft compensation, Licht and Bowles need to stick to their guns. The Bucs need to make him play out his fifth-year option in Tampa Bay.

If White plays great, consistent, All-Pro-caliber football all year long, which he has never done before, then perhaps reward him with that lofty contract extension he’s seeking if all can be forgiven and forgotten.

If not, let him walk in free agency next March after he’s played his fifth-year option and collect a third-round compensatory pick the following year. That might be even more compensation than White could fetch right now.

Either way, the Bucs need to find a damn good starting-caliber linebacker – or two – in this year’s draft to possibly replace David or White – or both.

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