Earlier this month the report of Buccaneers’ linebacker requesting a trade broke. Per ESPN’s Jenna Laine, “Two sources have told me that Bucs inside linebacker Devin White has requested a trade.” The report was that White is “fed up” with ongoing contract negotiations.
The natural reaction to this report is what could the Buccaneers get in trading White? Would they look for draft capital or a player for player swap? Or maybe the Bucs just ignore the request forcing White to play the final year of his rookie contract?
The question nobody is really talking about, what is White’s value on the free agent market? Is he worth the reported asking price of $100 million? At least one former NFL player and current co-host of “The Opening Drive” on SiriusXM NFL Radio Solomon Wilcots isn’t sold on White’s perceived value and trade demands.
“Look, it’s on tape. Devin is a good linebacker. One of the best off-ball linebackers in our league. But he can get better when it comes to fitting the run and reading that out, coming downhill.”
Wilcots continued,
“We’ve seen it on tape. There have been times when they’ve pulled him off the field and Todd Bowles has been irate when trying to get him to read it out and taking it on the right way.”
White is entering his fifth year option of his rookie deal and is looking to become the highest paid linebacker in the game.
He’s an extremely valuable player who helped the Buccaneers win a Super Bowl. He could be a foundational piece moving forward. He’s earned his place in Tampa Bay history.
With that said, the idea of trading White has a lot of things to like about it. Not investing the money towards his contract means other players can stay with the team and get their big payday. The possibility of replacing him with a controllable day two linebacker could only be a relatively slight drop off in some ways and maybe even an upgrade in others.
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