It’s clear to everyone that the primary focus for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is keeping Baker Mayfield , Mike Evans, and Antoine Winfield Jr. on the team. These three have been instrumental in the surprising postseason performance that the team enjoyed last season.

However, football is a game that’s not only won by one player. Lavonte David is one of the cogs in the Buccaneers engine that helped them exceed preseason expectations. If it were any other year, he would have gotten a contract from the team.

However, the current contract situation has pretty much sealed David’s time with the Bucs. As he prepares to leave the team, he makes an announcement regarding his future.

Lavonte David stays ready as Tampa Bay Buccaneers approach free agency
According to Pewter Report’s Adam Slivon, Lavonte David enjoyed the past season with the Bucs. While he’s under no illusion that he should be among the top priorities of the team, he shared that he’s keeping himself ready for an offer from the team or from elsewhere:

“We haven’t really spoken about that but everybody – we know how it goes right now,” David said about his return. “I’m 12 years in, I know how the game goes, they know. I just go from there. Whenever they’re ready, they’ll reach out. Right now I’m just trying to keep myself ready, try to stay ready, and just get my body back feeling good because when you’re off for a long time then it’s harder to get back in shape or whatever it may be. To answer your question, no we haven’t talked but I’m sure [conversations] will come up soon.”

David enjoyed a fine season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last season, the veteran linebacker finished with 86 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks, 5 pass deflections, and 1 forced fumble. He could still provide value to a team that needs depth and quality to their linebacker room.

While Lavonte David will be hoping to finish his career a Buccaneer, he isn’t closing his opportunity to play elsewhere.