Buccaneers deliver one final insult to Devin White after signing with Eagles

This offseason seemed to be all about keeping the band together for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as the team went to great lengths to retain key players in free agency.

Baker Mayfield was given a deal worth over $100 million, Mike Evans was locked up for two more seasons, and Antoine Winfield Jr. was made the highest-paid safety in the NFL. It wasn’t just top-tier players who were taken care of, as Lavonte David, Chase Edmonds, and Chas McLaughlin are all back as is Jordan Whitehead who was signed after two seasons in New York.

Not everyone is coming back.

While the Bucs went out of their way to take care of key players, the front office also notably ignored one that fell out of favor. Devin White’s tenure in Tampa Bay came to an end this offseason when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. It was hardly a surprising move, but it served as a final nail in the coffin for a journey that should have differently.

White took some shots at the Bucs in his introductory press conference with the Eagles but the team offered up a final parting shot to remind everyone just how poorly things ended up.

Buccaneers deliver final insult to Devin White after tumultuous end to his time in Tampa Bay

The Buccaneers lowered the price of White’s jersey in the team store to just $22, which is a discount of 78 percent off. That’s deep clearance pricing, and the added insult is that the only jersey cheaper than White’s is Carson Wentz.

Jerseys of former players almost always go on sale, but there’s something to be said about just how deep the discount is on White’s uniform. This seems to suggest that there’s absolutely zero legacy being left behind in Tampa Bay — which isn’t untrue even if it’s a painful reminder of what could have been.

White was drafted to be the successor to Lavonte David’s throne as the defensive leader, but he phoned in his final few seasons and demanded a payday he didn’t earn. He had things set up perfectly from the outset, earning All-Pro honors and a trip to the Pro Bowl while helping the Bucs win a Super Bowl.

All of that set up promise that was never delivered upon. Rather than continue to develop into a superstar, White took steps back over the last few years with things reaching a point of no return when he demanded a trade after not getting a $100 million extension from the Bucs.

He parlayed that into one of his worst seasons and had to settle for $93 million less than what he asked for last offseason. Philadelphia is getting about as deep of a discount on the former No. 5 overall pick as anyone trying to buy his jersey is.

There’s a really good player somewhere in White, but he hasn’t been head from in years. Perhaps that will change in Philly but until then his legacy in Tampa Bay will be a conflicted mix of knowing he helped win a Super Bowl while also have a jersey worth less than a takeout order.

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