Obviously, the retirement of legendary inside linebacker Lavonte David was a devastating piece of news for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faithful to swallow, but it was also one of the saddest stories around the league of the offseason, even though many outside of Tampa Bay have always criminally underrated David throughout his career.
But that is what happens when you are the anti Devin White in this day and age of shameless self promotion and stat padding among athletes. David was more focused on playing great football for his team and being a leader for the Buccaneers franchise than for stacking up tackles on his own like a few fraudulent players throughout of this ball club's proud history.
An elite coverage linebacker who could cover the field from end to end, thump the run, and even blitz, David did whatever the Buccaneers needed to in order to win, and he ended up with a Super Bowl ring for his efforts as one of the crucial pieces of that 2020 unit.
Lavonte David is finally getting the respect he deserves
Now, as Lavonte David enjoys his retirement, the media is defining his legacy, and in a surprise twist, Pro Football Focus gave David one of the highest honors possible by naming him in one of their All -PFF teams of the last 20 years.
While David did not make it into the first team, he was a second team linebacker for the All Time PFF team ever since the analytics and scouting site started up in existence in 2006. When you think about all the great linebackers who have played in his role over the years, that is an incredibly high honor to be named among the best of the best, and a lot of far inferior outlets and analysts would have never even considered the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer at all.
Look, 2026 was indeed the right time for the Buccaneers and David to part ways, and the best outcome was for the legendary linebacker to retire as a Buc and only a Buc instead of pulling a Mike Evans. His course was run.
But goodness gracious was a he special player. In an NFC South that has boasted inside linebackers like Jon Beason, Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, and more, David had an overall body of work in his career that is the most impressive, even as it is hard to argue against Kuechly's peak in Carolina. Not a bad way to carry on the Derrick Brooks' legacy.
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