Bills The Team To Watch Regarding Lavonte David?

The Bucs — and certainly their fan base — are anxiously awaiting the next step in the future of veteran linebacker Lavonte David. He’s one of the top free agent linebackers still on the market, and while Tampa Bay surely wants him back for a 12th season, it has to be at the right price given the current salary cap constraints the team is up against.

The linebacker position has essentially dominated the early days of the NFL’s free agency period. Contracts have been all over the board, with some bargain deals and a couple of big-money agreements.

But there’s been little in the way of news on Lavonte David, the Bucs’ 2012 second-round pick who has starred in Tampa for more than a decade. When the free agency window opened, the only real news we got was that he planned to keep his options open. But that’s no different from what he told the local media after Tampa Bay’s Wild Card loss to Dallas in January.

After a flurry of moves on Monday, Tuesday was a little slower around the league. And as things begin to slow down and teams continue to sign other linebackers not named Lavonte David, things are looking better and better for the Bucs as they look to lure their longtime captain back for at least another year.

However, the Buffalo Bills appear to be one team to keep an eye on. The back-to-back-to-back AFC East champions have reportedly checked in with the 33-year-old this week, according to NYup.com Bills reporter Ryan Talbot.

Could Bills Lure Lavonte David Away From Bucs?

Lavonte David has been a career Buc to this point, and he has spoken in the past about being a one-team guy like Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks were before him.

“For sure. I’d love to retire as a Buccaneer,” David said on the Ronnie & TKras Show last month. “Getting to play in the same building my whole career like guys like Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks, that’d be amazing. Just to walk the same hallways they walked their whole career.

“Especially Derrick Brooks, you all know how I feel about Derrick. Every time he comes around, my eyes light up. So, he’s definitely a guy who I kind of want to model after, just be a guy who played with Tampa their whole career and was just a staple for what they do.”

Barber spent the entirety of his 16-year career in Tampa Bay. Brooks played all 14 of his NFL seasons with the Bucs. Lavonte David, as of now, has played all 11 of his professional seasons in red, white and pewter. But could he soon trade that red, white and pewter in for the red, white and blue of the Buffalo Bills?

If David is going to go elsewhere, Buffalo appears to be a fit. The Bills just signed All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano to a contract extension, but they lost Tremaine Edmunds in free agency to the Bears. So, there’s a big vacancy at the linebacker position in Buffalo. And if David wants to give himself the best chance to get another Super Bowl ring as his career winds down, the Bills would be one of the better teams to sign with.

Bucs LB Lavonte David and Bills TE Dawson Knox – Photo by: USA Today

With Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis and Dawson Knox leading the offense and Milano, Von Miller, Ed Oliver and Tre’Davious White heading up the defense, the Bills will once again be a contender in 2023. And adding Lavonte David to that defense would make the unit even more formidable, and it already allowed just 17.9 points per game in 2022.

So, yes, the Bills might be eyeing Lavonte David. The Bucs are continuing to monitor his situation as well. It’ll partly come down to the money, to be sure, but if the money’s close, it’ll probably be a pretty gut-wrenching decision for the Tampa Bay legend.

Come back and finish his career with the team that drafted him? Or give himself a chance to raise the Lombardi Trophy one more time before hanging the cleats up for good?

It won’t be long until we find out what the future holds for him, but we all know he’ll be back at Raymond James Stadium in the future one way or another. His name will go up inside the Bucs Ring of Honor some day, after all.