After playing 13 seasons, Tampa Bay LB Lavonte David admitted that his love for football “probably doesn’t burn like it did when he was younger.” After the Bucs lost to the Commanders 20-23 in the wild card round, Lavonte’s statements sparked buzz about his potential retirement. The LB turned 35 this year and felt it might be time to say goodbye to football.
Lavonte had already considered retirement after the 2023 season but re-signed with the team on a one-year contract. “As a grown man, you’ve got other responsibilities and other priorities to take care of,” he said after this season.
So, everybody thought this might be the first time in 13 years that they wouldn’t see Lavonte David on the Bucs’ defensive lineup. But on March 7, the LB dropped a video of him working out in the gym, hinting at something else. Later that day, reports emerged that David had re-signed with the team for another year. Last week, he said in a Bucs press conference, “I still love the game, I still have the ability to play… why not give it another shot?”
Now, this week, the 35-year-old has revealed the real reason behind his return. And it is Baker Mayfield.
That’s right, it was Baker Mayfield who convinced Lavonte David to stay for another run and make one more push for the Super Bowl. “Baker reached out to me as well, you know, over the offseason. You know, he knew I was contemplating retirement or coming back. And he reached out and said, you know, he’d love to, uh, do it again with me one time, one another time,” shared Lavonte as he appeared on The Rich Eisen Show.
June 14, 2023, Tampa, Florida, USA: Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David 54 speaks to reporters during Buccaneers mandatory minicamp at the AdventHealth Training Center on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Tampa. Tampa USA – ZUMAs70_ 20230614_zan_s70_056 Copyright: xJeffereexWoox – ZUMA0259 0259904646st Copyright: xIMAGO/JeffereexWoox
The LB shared that the team was unhappy with how their latest season ended. Giving Baker his flowers, David added, “Baker is a true leader… Everybody in the locker room loves him. We wanted him to be a part of our team, and he’s taken over. He’s doing great. Made the Pro Bowl two years in a row. And all he’s just going to keep doing is just keep on excelling.”
So, while Baker Mayfield‘s leadership is keeping the locker room motivated, the Bucs’ front office is making moves to give Todd Bowles some extra support on the sidelines.
Bucs bringing reinforcements for Bowles’ sideline crew
Tampa Bay Bucs GM Jason Licht isn’t just adding players to the roster, he’s making coaching staff upgrades as well. Tampa Bay has hired Zach Beistline as their new director of football research, reported Fox Sports Greg Auman.
“Bucs have hired Zach Beistline as their new director of football research. Beistline spent the last 12 years with the Jaguars, working as an analyst and most recently as director of game management,” Greg wrote on X on Tuesday.
Todd Bowles’ shaky in-game clock management has been a hot topic for a while. Therefore, this hire could be Tampa Bay’s move to clean it up. Zach Beistline is heading to a new franchise after 12 years with the Jaguars. Ironically, this year, Bucs OC Liam Coen left Tampa Bay to become Jacksonville’s head coach. But Beistline wasn’t kept on staff.
Hopefully, bringing Zach in will help clean up Bowles’s clock management issues. The Bucs HC has often found himself in hot water for holding onto timeouts early in games, banking on late-game situations that rarely happen.
So, while the 61-year-old has done a lot of good for the team, this weakness has been hard to ignore.
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