Todd Bowles tips Bucs hand about Devin White trade rumors ahead of NFL Draft

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is setting the record straight on what the team plans on doing amid rampant Devin White trade rumors. 

With the NFL Draft just days away, we’re entering the portion of the pre-draft frenzy where things get thrown against the wall to see what sticks.

One of the rumors going around is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will trade Devin White, thus honoring his request from earlier this month. It was a bit of a stunning admission, even if the writing was on the wall if you looked hard enough.

White wants a contract extension and the Bucs seem unwilling to meet his demands. The Pro Bowler is expected to get a deal in the neighborhood of $100 million, which is extremely rich for the Bucs blood, especially considering corresponding moves that must be made.

Next offseason both Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. will be due for extensions, and the Bucs will have a hard enough time figuring out how to pay them both let alone working White in there as well.

Keep in mind that it’s very possible the front office maneuvers a way to bring all three back, but it won’t be an easy task. White figures to be the odd man out, and his trade request was meant to put pressure on the front office.

While there’s indeed pressure on the Bucs to figure something out, one thing the team won’t be doing is anything hasty.

Bucs Rumors: Todd Bowles talks Devin White trade rumors ahead of NFL Draft

After White requested his trade, the first thought was that the Bucs might be able to flip him ahead of the NFL Draft. The timing made sense, but that’s about the only thing that did.

Speaking to the media ahead of the NFL Draft this week, head coach Todd Bowles set the record straight on what the future holds for Devin White and the team.

Simply put, he’s not going anywhere as long as he’s under contract in Tampa Bay.

“We got him on board another year like Jason (Licht) said,” Bowles said. “We discussed it. We know we’re not trading him and we’ll go from there. We know it’s the offseason right now so nothing counts and we’re expecting him to be there when the season starts.“

This is in line with what the messaging has been from the jump, as Jason Licht has been adamant that White isn’t going anywhere this offseason. Every comment has been built around the idea that the team is planning on White playing next year in Tampa Bay, and contract bridges will be crossed when they are reached.

Right now is not that time.

Whether a deal eventually gets done is another thing, but one thing that seems to be clear is that White is a Buccaneer until he’s no longer contractually obligated to be.