Lavonte David, Buccaneers Reportedly Agree to 1-Year, $7M Contract in Free Agency

Linebacker Lavonte David's tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will continue after the free agent agreed to terms on a one-year, $7 million deal with the organization on Wednesday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.

David has played his entire 11-year NFL career with the Buccaneers. He's started all 166 of his games and made 100 or more tackles in nine seasons.

The Bucs selected the former Nebraska star with a second-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft. He made the All-Pro team in 2013 and the Pro Bowl in 2015.

David played a big part in the 2020 Buccaneers' Super Bowl-winning season, racking up 117 tackles (82 solo), 12 tackles for a loss and one-and-a-half sacks.

Last season, David started all 17 games and made 124 tackles (80 solo) and three sacks.

After the season, David's two-year, $25 million contract expired. He previously inked a five-year, $50,250,000 extension with the team following his rookie deal.

David made clear in a Thursday, Feb. 9 interview with Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi on WDAE's Ronnie & TKras Show (h/t Bailey Adams of Pewter Report) that he wanted to retire as a Buc:

"For sure. I'd love to retire as a Buccaneer. 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."

It appears David may well retire as a Buccaneer now that he's re-signed in Tampa, where he's called home for over a decade.

His return is a big boost for an NFC South-winning team that has numerous question marks elsewhere, namely at quarterback following Tom Brady's retirement.