Will A Sad Ranking Motivate Lavonte David?
February 23rd, 2026
“They think you’re washed, Tae.”
When Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles host news conferences tomorrow at the NFL Scouting Combine, fans might learn the football fate of legendary Lavonte David.
David said the Bucs have welcomed him back for his 15th season, but David has not made a decision public. He has said he has “a lot of football left in me,” and that he’s still weighing his 2026 options.
Like every legendary player, David is a highly competitive dude. He gutted through knee issues last season to rank tied for 35th in combined tackles (114) including 3 1/2 sacks. David didn’t miss a game despite regularly having a knee drained.
TheAtheltic.com, the pay-per-read New York Times product, ranked 150 pending NFL free agents. One of them is David.
He checked in at No. 149.
Contract projection: 1 year, $6.5 million
Age: 36 Height: 6-1 Weight: 233
David lost a step (or two) in his age-35 season. He averaged 32.1 snaps per splash play, the highest of his career, and he is not an impact defender anymore. But his experience makes him a possible depth piece, if he chooses to keep playing.
Joe wonders what David thought when he saw that. And yes, Joe is confident someone in David’s circle sent the article his way with a wiseass comment or two.
Joe suspects a fire was lit in David, a guy not used to hearing that he’s a third-class player.
David has spent most of his career feeling disrespected because he was left out of Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams. Understandably so.
It’s possible David doesn’t want to leave the game with people thinking he can’t play anymore when he believes he can.