Bucs LB White Stars While Playing With A Heavy Heart

For Bucs inside linebacker Devin White, he played a game in possibly the roughest circumstances imaginable for an NFL player in Tampa Bay’s 21-16 win over Seattle. Not only did the team travel overseas from Tampa to Munich and have to adjust to the extended travel and time change, but White also had to do so after losing his father unexpectedly just three days before Sunday’s game.

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So how did White respond? By having what may very well be his best game of the season. White led the team with nine total tackles and two sacks, one of which included forcing a fumble on Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith that was huge in stopping them from putting points on the board in the red zone.

“I told Antoine [Winfield Jr.] I was going to be the first to get us back on the takeaway train,” White said.

While White has faced his share of criticism for his recent play from Warren Sapp and some Bucs reporters – PewterReport included – he demonstrated Sunday that he’s one of the most electric linebackers in the NFL when he’s on.

Playing with focus and emotion, White can impact games substantially. His emotions were amplified by the loss of his father, but he channeled them into positives throughout the game.

“It was very hard to play, just a lot of emotion,” White said postgame. “I tried to turn them into good emotions, just keeping a great spirit. That’s the relationship we [him and his father] had, just all about ball, all about going out there and [being] the best, and getting this thing turned around.”

It was all about ball for him, and in a touching moment in the locker room after the game, head coach Todd Bowles deservedly gave him the game ball.

White Chose To Play For The Bucs Despite A Heavy Heart

After recording his first sack of Smith, the Bucs star linebacker pointed up to the sky in tribute to his father, who passed away. White is now second on the Bucs with five sacks.

“It was just appreciation,” White said. “Just knowing I got great people, great angels watching over me. It was like, ‘This one’s for you.’ I just felt like I was going to come out and have a great game. I had a great week of preparation. Then getting ready to get on the plane and to get a call like that, it just seemed unreal. But at the end of the day I knew I had a job to do and I wasn’t going to accept no pats on the back. I just put my head down and just kept going forward.”

White has looked like a completely different player on the field since his performance against the Ravens on Thursday Night Football, and his performance against the Seahawks provides renewed hope that he is the captain and anchor that the Bucs’ defense can rally and build around for the future.