NFL rumors: Buccaneers Pro Bowl linebacker requests a trade

Buccaneers Pro Bowl linebacker Devin White requested a trade on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Devin White just requested a trade, one which his team may not readily grant him this offseason.

According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, White is “fed up” with the Bucs and has become more and more frustrated with his current situation in Tampa Bay.

White publicly announced his trade request after he and the Bucs have presumably butted heads regarding a potential long-term extension. In the wake of Tom Brady’s retirement, the Bucs have been severely limited by financial constraints, leading to the release of several key pieces including Leonard Fournette, Cameron Brate, and Ryan Succop.

Tampa Bay has done some damage control by reworking players’ contracts, but at this point, the franchise’s hands could be tied in terms of how many long-term deals it can dole out. White, a 2019 first-round pick, is entering the last year of his rookie contract as the Bucs picked up his fifth-year option, worth $11.7 million.

Bucs LB Devin White is frustrated, wants to be traded this offseason

It’s no surprise White wants to secure his bag and buy himself years of stability in the long run; the Bucs, however, don’t appear to want to trade him at all.

Earlier this offseason, Tampa inked Lavonte David to a one-year deal to presumably keep the team’s off-ball linebacker duo together for at least one more year.

The 25-year-old White has more upside than David and could be looking for a deal closer to Bears’ Tremaine Edmunds’ four-year, $72 million deal or Ravens’ Roquan Smith’s five-year, $100 million extension. White did play a significant role in the Bucs’ Super Bowl LV run, though he and the rest of Tampa Bay’s defense regressed in 2022.

Outside of Edmunds, Smith, and a few other players, the off-ball linebacker market doesn’t pay its top performers too handsomely, and White may struggle to find a team willing to meet his unspecified contract demands.

While Spotrac believes White could command a four-year, $80 million deal, the Bucs don’t seem keen on paying White that much this offseason and instead may be happy kicking that bucket down the road.

For now, Tampa Bay still holds most of the leverage and will have the last say on whether White stays or goes.