Has The Lavonte David Era Ended In Tampa?

The possibility of re-signing Lavonte David or many of the other pending free agents was always going to difficult this offseason. While nothing has been ruled out yet, David may have just started taking his first steps in another direction.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, David is going to test out free agency next week. Although that doesn’t stop him from coming back to Tampa, Rapoport described the likelihood as “challenging.”

The Dilemma Between Lavonte David And The Bucs Isn’t Easy To Solve

Bucs LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Outside of cornerback Jamel Dean, David is the most-needed defensive player that the Bucs would like back on the roster next season. The problem is, with the Bucs being $56 million over the salary cap earlier this week before Donovan Smith’s release, the only reality in which David returns is if he gets a smaller deal than the one he had when he signed a two-year, $25 million deal after the 2020 season.

This is why David testing the market. He wants to gauge how much he’s worth at age 33.

The best way for Tampa Bay to get him back would be for the veteran linebacker’s market to not be an ideal as he thought it would be when he tested the waters. He’s not the only inside linebacker available, as Bobby Wagner is also a free agent, so he doesn’t control the market.

The other wrench in this whole plan is that the Bucs will have a dead cap hit of $6.85 million if David makes it past the first week of the legal tampering period. That further makes it tougher for the Bucs to sign anyone, let alone David.

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Matt Matera/PR

David and the Bucs still have a mutual interest and he has said before that he’d “love” to retire a Buccaneer. The reality though is that it’s in David’s hands and if there’s a better deal or a chance to a play with a team that is more of a Super Bowl contender next season, it’s hard to blame him for taking that option.

General manager Jason Licht gave great praise to the long-tenured Buc while speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine and didn’t say no to a return.

“He’s one of the iconic players of Tampa Bay and will always be a Buccaneer,” Licht said. “It’s still not out of the realm of possibility that he’d be playing for us next year. It takes two to agree to it. We’ll see how that unfolds, but he’s an awesome player.”

In his 11 years in Tampa Bay, David turned into one of the greatest defensive players in Bucs history. The door isn’t all the way closed, but each side might have to turn the page to a new chapter.