A big question Bucs inside linebacker Lavonte David had to ask himself this offseason is if he can still play at a high level. He still believes so and the Bucs do too. At the same notion, though, David recognizes that his performance needs to be better heading into his 14th season and he knows how and where he needs to improve.

“Could be better, man, could be better,” Lavonte David said of his year last season. “[There were] some areas – obviously, interceptions…I want to get a lot of interceptions. I want to make game-changing plays.”

Lavonte David had one interception last season. It was the first that he had in the previous three seasons, so it’s something he’s had on his mind for a while.

Lavonte David Gives His Definition Of A Great Linebacker

Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: USA Today

A role that David will continue to play is being a leader and a mentor to other players in the locker room. That will continue with third-year player SirVocea Dennis, who has a chance to be in a starting role. It’s also very likely that the Bucs draft an inside linebacker or two in this year’s draft to flood the position.

The bottom line is that there’ll be plenty of players listening to what Lavonte David has to say.

“I always tell the young guys and they’re always asking me, ‘What makes a great linebacker?’” David began. “Linebackers have got to be playmakers – you’ve got to find a way to impact the game some way, somehow…Splash plays, creating tackles for losses, getting ball-disrupting plays – not just making tackles – trying to get the ball out and not just being comfortable knocking the ball down, getting the interceptions.

“All of that contributes to winning organizations, and that’s all around. We didn’t have a lot of interceptions this year as a defense, and I want that to change. I think we need to be more aggressive, have more confidence in ourselves, be able to make the play and don’t just be satisfied with doing your job – go above and beyond.”

Bucs’ Defense Needs To Pick It Up Overall

The 2024 season for the Bucs was highlighted by a high flying offense that was top four in the league in points per game, but a defense that failed to create turnovers, get stops when needed and keep those leads. For a defense led by Todd Bowles and Lavonte David, it was surprising.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

David spoke about how he felt the defense let the offense down last season and the necessities it’ll take to regain their form for the 2025 season.

“Yeah, for sure. For sure. We talked about that,” David said. “We had our private defensive meetings and then our meetings with Coach [Todd] Bowles. Every time we take the field, we’ve got to put the game on us. Every time we’re in a situation where we can close out the game, we’ve got to close out the game. We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be better defensively, and we didn’t do our best to help us get over that obstacle in the Wild Card [game]. We had countless opportunities to do that, and we didn’t get it done.

“We know that and all the guys on defense know that. I feel like we’re going to be better. I feel like guys are more motivated. I have close relationships with all of the guys, and we talk, and we talk about things that we can get better at and how things are going to be different. I definitely do think we could have gotten our team to the Super Bowl last year, but we didn’t do our part defensively. We did okay, but we didn’t do what we were capable of.”