After creating some unexpected panic among Bucs fans, the Devin White trade rumors have been addressed by a Tampa Bay insider.
If there’s one expectation for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offseason, it’s that things should be interesting.
We got a heavy dose of that on Monday morning when Devin White created some waves by posting cryptic messages on his personal Instagram account. White posted three images with captions that seemingly implied that his time with the Buccaneers was nearing an end, which unsurprisingly caused some panic among fans.
“Thank ya,” White said in one caption which also included a pirate flag.
“Four years went by fast,” said another.
The third was a photoshopped billboard with an inspirational quote about faith and believing that God has a plan for everyone.
It doesn’t take much squinting to read between the lines on these posts and jump to the conclusion that White was implying something about his future. With a number of tough decisions to make this offseason, the Bucs parting ways with White makes sense but would still come as a complete shock to just about everyone.
Buccaneers insider clarifies Devin White trade rumors after cryptic IG posts
Rick Stroud has come to the rescue, though.
According to what he’s hearing the Bucs have zero intention of trading White this offseason.
Don’t know what to make of this but I’m told there are NO plans by the Bucs to trade Devin White. pic.twitter.com/OQ5BRTAoGh
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) March 6, 2023
To be clear, don’t misinterpret that or read into the fact that he only said trade and didn’t say anything about releasing him. Tampa Bay can’t release White without incurring more dead cap space and would only save money by trading him.
White is set to earn $11.7M next season in the final year of his rookie contract, which means he’ll be one of a handful of important Bucs players up for extensions next offseason. That’s part of why the team is ripping off the band-aid now in terms of making tough decisions, as the front office is being careful not to kick the can too far down the road and cost the team even more than it already has to pay for the Tom Brady era.
Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. are due to get extensions next offseason, and the team will need to decide what happens with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Devin White is among that group, and you can begin to see how the bill next season adds up fast.
But the idea the Bucs would move off him this offseason doesn’t make a lot of sense, even if it would save the team money. There are other ways to pinch pennies and get back under the cap without trading away a Pro Bowl starter and team captain.