A future Hall of Famer's remarkable career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is drawing to a close, says a senior consultant and Super Bowl-winning coach.
The last head coach to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory predicts that one of the players who helped win that NFL championship has played his last game.
There's plenty of speculation surrounding Lavonte David this offseason.
The linebacker has been with the Bucs since 2012, through some of the greatest moments in franchise history as well as some of the team's low points, including the ousters of three coaches.
But David is 36 now, and last season, he finally started to show signs of his age.
David recently laid out what it would take to get him to return to Tampa Bay, but Bruce Arians doesn't see it happening.
"I think Lavonte probably is going to retire," Arians said on the "Up and Adams" podcast on Thursday. "I never count him out. He goes back every year and sees how he’s feeling. The guy is amazing. He just stays in great shape."
Arians, who was Tampa's coach from 2019-2021 before retiring in March 2022, is still a member of the organization as a senior football consultant, so it's probably a safe bet that he and David still communicate. It's also likely Arians still communicates with Mike Evans, another veteran Buc whose future is up in the air.
Arians doesn't think Evans will retire, but Evans not retiring doesn't mean he'll be with the Bucs in 2026.
Evans may play for an AFC contender in 2026, which would end his 12-year tenure with the Bucs.
So there's a realistic chance that Tampa will open next season without its two longest-tenured players.
If David does retire, there's a chance Tampa Bay would take a linebacker in the first round of the draft.
One option is Ohio State All-American Sonny Styles. Tampa could also attack the free agent market, where LB's such as Nakobe Dean (Philadelphia Eagles), Devin Bush (Cleveland Browns) and Devin Lloyd (Jacksonville Jaguars) will be available.
If David's years in Tampa are coming to a close, his will have been one of the most decorated careers in Buccaneers history. David is a three-time All-Pro, making it to the first-team in 2013 and the second-team in 2016 and 2020. That 2020 season will go down in history as the season when the Bucs won the Super Bowl.
David had six tackles in that game, and Evans had a 31-yard reception, playing alongside another future Hall of Famer, quarterback Tom Brady.
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