After 14 seasons in a Buccaneers jersey, linebacker Lavonte David is officially calling it a career. The 36-year-old never got the same attention as guys like Luke Kuechly, Bobby Wagner, or Fred Warner, but he’s a Ring of Honor lock in Tampa and a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate.
But with his departure comes an opportunity for former New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke. The former defensive captain was released earlier this offseason as a cap-saving move, giving Big Blue around $9 million in relief.
Without David roaming the middle of the defense, the Bucs suddenly have a 1,716-tackle void to fill, and with Okereke known as a tackling machine himself, the fit makes a lot of sense.
Bobby Okereke is sitting there for the Buccaneers if they want him
Okereke has battled injuries and the inconsistency that comes with them over the past two seasons, but he’s not far removed from finishing ninth in the league in tackles with 149 and earning a 79.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (ranking 15th out of 83 eligible players) in 2023.
There’s a good chance the former Stanford Cardinal returns to form under a defensive-minded head coach like Todd Bowles. Also, playing for a more competitive team could be its own form of reboot.
On paper, it might not seem like Tampa Bay needs another off-ball linebacker, especially after signing Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom earlier in free agency, but neither move replaces what David has been in the middle of that defense for the past decade and a half. Anzalone is a rangy LB who's strong in coverage but struggles against the run, and Rozebloom might have the tackling numbers, but that's about all they are -- counting stats.
Bowles needs someone he can trust to run the defense on the field and keep everyone on task, especially with how much pressure and movement he puts into his scheme.
Okereke has done that job plenty of times before, and Tampa has the cap space to bring him in without needing to make any subsequent financial moves. It also keeps them from potentially having to rely on a rookie to step up right away, giving them flexibility going into the draft, which is never a bad thing.
With LaVonte David gone, there’s a new era in Bucs football. Okereke could help bridge the gap from the old guard to the new while still keeping defensive standards high for The Plank.