Former Buccaneers LB Devin White Reflects on Rocky End to Tampa Bay Tenure

The ex-Buccaneer says that his release has been a "humbling" experience.

Sep 25, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White (45) takes the field for warm ups before a game against the Philadelphia Eaglesat Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got some great play out of linebacker Devin White during their Super Bowl run in 2020, but it was an up-and-down relationship since then — and that relationship came to an end this offseason.

After demanding a trade in the offseason last year and holding in during camp, White eventually joined the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency on a one-year deal worth $4 million after Buccaneers linebacker K.J. Britt started eating into his snaps. It was an experience White called humbling, per Sports Illustrated's Eagles Today, and he said that leaving Tampa Bay could be good for him overall in the long run.

“I don’t know if I needed a change of scenery, but I feel like it was definitely good, a breath of fresh air to be able to start over and work my way from the ground up,” White said. “There’s nothing like a life-humbling experience.”

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That doesn't mean that he's abandoned his Tampa Bay roots entirely, however. White brought up Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, who he said he still talks to even now as he begins his journey with a new football team. White said that Bowles agreed he needed to play somewhere else in an attempt to get his career back on track.

“That’s a guy who always had my back, so if he said [White needed a change of scenery] then I really agree because he knows best,” White said about Bowles. “He was a father figure to me, still to this day, and he checks in on me. "

The two sides will reunite sooner than later, as the Buccaneers will face off against the Eagles in Week 4 at 1 p.m. on September 29th.

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