Star Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White has reportedly requested a trade.
The first-round pick has been «increasingly frustrated» with the way the organization is working and is «fed up,» ESPN reported Tuesday.
The Bucs are a team in transition after Tom Brady announced his retirement following the 2022 NFL season. But White’s frustrations have no publicly known root cause at this point.
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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) is wrapped up by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White (45) during the regular season game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 6 November 2022 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. . (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Maybe it’s White’s contract situation, as Tampa Bay exercised his fifth-year option that comes with being a first-round pick. He is currently slated to earn $11.706 million for the 2023 season.
But he’s also set for free agency after this year, and the 25-year-old may want his extension before playing this year.
ESPN added that the Bucs are not willing to trade him.
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The Bucs haven’t been in spending mode this offseason as they are over the NFL’s salary cap by $55 million. While other teams reached extensions with players and signed new ones through free agency, the Bucs have mostly been cutting the bait.
Brady’s $35 million salary cap was off the books without them having to do anything thanks to his retirement (the real one this time). But others like running back Leonard Fournette, left tackle Donovan Smith and tight end Cameron Brate were all capped.
There were also restructured contracts for players like wide receiver Chris Godwin and cornerback Carlton Davis, among others.
White has certainly done his part to at least get extension talks, as the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of LSU is already a Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl player.
New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram II is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White and safety Mike Edwards during the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday September 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
The Bucs won the Super Bowl in the first season Brady landed at the Sunshine State after an illustrious career with the New England Patriots. White was just a sophomore in the league, but he was a key player defensively alongside Lavonte David on the linebacking corps. He had nine sacks and 140 combined tackles during the 2020 regular season.
But David’s Pro Bowl season came in 2021, when he recorded 3.5 sacks, 128 tackles (eight for loss) and one fumble recovery.
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That production, which includes 5.5 sacks and 124 tackles last season, has White among the best linebackers in the league, so a deal would make sense to remain a critical piece of the Bucs’ defense.
However, there were some interesting social media posts from White that ESPN noted may have shown their frustrations earlier. In March, he posted Instagram Stories that featured the words «thank you» with a pirate flag and peace sign emoji.
Devin White #45 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers walks to the locker room after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints at Raymond James Stadium on December 5, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
White later said he was reflecting on his four years in the NFL: One of the Instagram stories read «4 years[s] it went by fast» as well, and that he was thanking the Bucs fans for their support.
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It doesn’t matter if he made a decision, as it seems clear that White is ready to leave Tampa Bay.