The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not expected to use the franchise tag on veteran linebacker Devin White, league sources tell FanBuzz.
Teams can always reverse course and apply the tag before the March 5 deadline. Likewise, Tampa Bay can now work to sign White to a long-term extension to keep him in a Buccaneers uniform for the 2024 season and beyond, and it is also possible that he will become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins on March 13.
The Buccaneers have some significant decisions to make this offseason, when it comes to the futures of White, fellow linebacker Lavonte David, All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans, and quarterback Baker Mayfield. Tampa Bay previously released linebacker Shaq Barrett.
Tampa Bay is currently projected to have $43.9 million in cap space ahead of free agency getting underway next month.
White is coming off a 2023 campaign that saw him produce 83 total tackles with 2.5 sacks and a pair of interceptions. The former No. 5 overall pick from the 2019 NFL Draft, White was given his fifth-year option worth over $11 million this past season to stay in Tampa Bay. Now, with his rookie deal out of the way, White and his agent will be looking to make him one of the highest-paid off-ball linebackers in the league, making somewhere near the top players like Roquan Smith and Fred Warner in terms of average annual salary.
Primed to potentially reach free agency for the first time, White has logged 566 total tackles with 23 sacks, and three interceptions through the first five seasons of his career since being chosen by the Buccaneers with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. With a Super Bowl ring, second-team All-Pro selection, and a Pro Bowl already under his belt, the 26-year-old linebacker should have a strong market in free agency.
