Lavonte David Comments on Buccaneers Not Being Favorites to Win NFC South in 2024

The Bucs are being counted out, but it doesn't phase Tampa Bay's longtime linebacker.

Jan 15, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) reacts after a / Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers exceeded their 2023 expectations, winning five out of their last six games to bring their regular season record to 9-8 and claiming the throne of the NFC South for the third consecutive season in a row. They continued their hot play into the postseason knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round before putting up a fight against the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round before ultimately dropping the game to end their season.

Now, despite bringing back almost 80% of their production from 2023, they will enter the 2024 season as underdogs to win the division behind the Atlanta Falcons — in large part due to the dirty birds bringing in former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins.

On Monday, Bucs' star linebacker Lavonte David spoke with NFL Total Access and discussed his thoughts on the team not being the favorites to win the NFC South.

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"It's been like that for a while. My first eight years in the league, you know how that was, nobody really like cared. Then we got Tom. We still weren't really favored with Tom but we proved a lot of people wrong with that. Now we have a different situation, people counting us out and things like that not knowing that we still have the nucleus of our team still there. So you have a lot of great guys in the locker room We have a lot of great football players. We had a lot of great rookies we added last year who played really well for us and now with them having a year of experience under they belt, I'm sure it's going to be a better year this year."

As David mentioned, the Buccaneers have always been doubted and that doesn't matter to them. They bring back the nucleus of the team and have plenty of young talent that will help them improve from their 2023 campaign.

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What happens on the field during the regular season is what matters and just because your division rival picks up a quarterback that is a massive improvement from what they had shouldn't sway things until those games are played. Not to mention that Cousins is coming off one of the worst injuries that can happen in football.

David didn't focus on what the Falcons or any other NFC South team did this offseason. Instead, he focused on his team and their capabilities. Once again showing the type of character he has and where his focus is as the Bucs get deeper into the offseason and preseason.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2024 offseason.

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