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David Walker injury update is a total nightmare scenario for Buccaneers

ByMike Luciano|
Jan 30, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; National team defensive lineman David Walker of Central Arkansas (33) works through drills during Senior Bowl practice for the National team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
Jan 30, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; National team defensive lineman David Walker of Central Arkansas (33) works through drills during Senior Bowl practice for the National team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a bit of a risk in the 2025 NFL Draft, choosing not to add any pass rushers to a subpar unit until they burned a fourth-round pick on Central Arkansas star David Walker. In a perfect world, Walker would have emerged as the next great Todd Bowles pass rush project.

Unfortunately, Walker has now suffered a major setback that will threaten his professional career. In one of the first few days of Buccaneers training camp, Walker went down with a lower leg injury. The severity has now been revealed, and the worst-case scenario appears to have become reality.

Walker will miss the entire 2025 season after suffering a torn ACL in what has become a terrible spot of bad luck for the young dynamo. What was regarded as a very strong draft by Jason Licht has been thrown into question, as fans excited to see what Walker can do will have to wait until next year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie DE David Walker out for 2025 with torn ACL

Walker came into the NFL with a fair degree of hype after a strong college career that was backed up by some promising workouts. After tallying 12 sacks in his final season with the Bears, Walker came to the NFL as a more polished product than most players from lower levels.

While some teams were scared by the lack of great speed and the fact that the 6-1, 260-pound end was considered undersized by many, Tampa Bay was intrigued by his deep toolbox of pass rush moves and his ability to make plays defending the run despite the size disadvantage.

Free agent signing Haason Reddick and YaYa Diaby are the two projected starters on the edge for Tampa Bay, but the lack of depth is alarming. The top two backups are veteran Anthony Nelson and disappointing second-rounder Chris Braswell, and the depth chart behind those two consists of undrafted free agents.

Tampa Bay is not in a position to lose a player like this, as Walker was poised to get plenty of snaps as a rookie. Walker will not be relegated to making his debut one year after a serious knee injury while marinating on the bench.

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