It seems the Devin White drama just won’t stop thickening, even in the wake of a huge win on Sunday by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
All we should be talking about is how Baker Mayfield had a historic day at Lambeau Field as the Bucs improved to 7-7 and moved a step closer to securing a playof ticket. Tampa Bay now has an 83 percent chance of making the postseason and need to win two of its last three games to get in either as division winners or a wild card.
Instead, one of the dominating narratives after the win revolves around Devin White — someone who has not contributed to any part of the current three-game winning streak.
White was a last-minute inactive before Sunday’s game, which marked the third straight game he’s missed. Not for nothing but the Bucs are 3-0 in those games and K.J. Britt has used the opportunity to step up in big ways to fill his shoes.
This Sunday might be the breaking point with White, though.
Report: Buccaneers are growing tired of Devin White’s attitude problem
Initially it was reported that the reason he was inactive wasn’t injury-related, something that Todd Bowles contradicted after the game. The way he answered the question about White’s status was confusing, and it almost sounded like he was throwing the linebacker under the bus for essentially calling in sick to work at the last minute.
As it turns out, White has been wearing coaches and teammates thin with his attitude recently. Bucs insider Rick Stroud dropped a bomb after the game, reporting that White was being benched in favor of Britt regardless of whether he was active or not.
The reason for the benching stems from attitude issues that have not sat well with anyone in the locker room.
Breaking: #Bucs Devin White said he "couldn't go,' and was made inactive but the team planned to start K.J. Britt at inside linebacker. I'm told White's attitude has not sat well recently with some teammates and coaches. https://t.co/wO96K0TuAH
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) December 17, 2023
White has been a target for ridicule from fans going all the way back to March. He posted a series of cryptic Instagram messages that sounded like farewell messages, then walked those back by saying they were being misinterpreted. A month later he requested a trade amid stalled contract negotiations, something he later rescinded and apologized for after Lavonte David talked him down.
That’s the prism through which his season is being viewed, and it seems nobody likes what they see. Fans seem to be out on White and his effort, and not it sounds like he’s losing the locker room as well.
We’ll see if anything changes during the week, but the whole drama is a small rain cloud hanging over what is an otherwise incredibly joyous stretch for the Buccaneers. If anything, White seemingly taking away from this moment is likely another nail in his coffin with Tampa Bay.