What should a Buccaneer look like? No, not the eye patch wearing, seafaring, swashbuckling kind. I mean, what does a Tampa Bay Buccaneer look like in his swagger. In the way he attacks daily life. What does it look like to be worthy of the red and pewter? Who comes to mind when a Buccaneers’ fan thinks about the canons firing over Raymond James Stadium?
Derrick Brooks? Check. Warren Sapp? Definitely. Mike Evans? Without doubt. These men look vastly different in appearance, but their makeup as a human is what makes them perfect Buccaneers. As of yesterday, it dawned on me as I watched an emotional Lavonte David at the podium for his re-signing presser that he might stand head and shoulders above all others when it comes to representing the proud logo of this organization.
THE STANDARD. pic.twitter.com/ON7oYdsLtm
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) March 22, 2024
In modern pro sports, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that money and notoriety sometimes get prioritized above loyalty to a team or a fanbase. It can get murky when players get frustrated with their teams’ management when contract time comes. If there were ever an instance that one could have understood a player choosing to depart for greener pastures, it would have been in Lavonte David’s situation after his eighth season. He had been drafted out of Nebraska by the Bucs in 2012 and even though he was an All-Pro within a year, he still never got a shot at a single playoff game until year 9. The Bucs were not a good team. If he had left to play for a contending team in 2020, who could have blamed him?
According to David, it never occurred to him. He spoke earnestly on Friday at the podium, with GM Jason Licht next to him, about how much it meant to him to be staying with the team. He spoke about his family, emotional at times, and how much his time with former coach “B.A.” (Bruce Arians) and then Defensive Coordinator but now Head Coach Todd Bowles meant to his journey. With every word, further cementing his special place in this city.
Lavonte could have easily left in 2019 for another team. If he had hit free agency and chose to shop himself around, he would have had 31 teams fighting like hungry wolves over his services. His work ethic, attention to studying opposing teams’ film, and leadership alone place him among the greatest linebackers of all time. David never gave them the time of day. He re-upped with the Buccaneers and the following year was rewarded with not only a Playoff appearance, but a Super Bowl victory on their home field right here in Tampa Bay. If there was a crescendo to a football Cinderella story, that night during the final moments of Super Bowl LV would have been it.
Every forced fumble of Lavonte’s career ????????
Watch more plays like this on NFL+ ???? pic.twitter.com/cELraJYXeh
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) March 22, 2024
When the 2023 season ended, and the prospects of David being a free agent reared it’s head again, not a single serious person in Tampa thought Lavonte would be leaving. And we were right. The principal reason for the press conference yesterday was to allow David & Bucs GM Jason Licht formally announce the signing of Lavonte’s new deal while allowing a few questions to be asked. Most notably, when Jason Licht was asked about his star linebacker, he said that there was a faceless silhouette image of a Bucs’ player in the team Draft Room, commonly referred to as the “War Room”. Licht said that, even if it didn’t have a face, that player is Lavonte David. “He is the standard” were his exact words. Lavonte David embodies the Buccaneers’ framework. A football player, of course, but also a son, a husband, a father, a friend, a teammate, and much to our delight, he is a Buccaneer. Thank you, Lavonte, for making Tampa Bay your home.
Thanks for getting your Buccaneers’ news here with us! Stay tuned for news and updates on the Bucs and your other favorite Florida sports teams as they happen here at Sports Club Florida.