Linebacker Lavonte David has played for just one team throughout his entire career and that won’t change as he enters 2025.
David, 35, told reporters in his Monday press conference that he’s healthy after getting rolled up on in the postseason loss to Washington in January. And now that he’s returning for Year 14, David is approaching Derrick Brooks’ franchise record for tackles.
“I mean, all of the stats come in and out — there are so many stats out there — but I did kind of know about that one,” David said, noting it wasn’t a “big focus” for his desire to return. “I’m not competing with Derrick Brooks — Derrick Brooks is still lightyears ahead of where I want to be. To go back to what you said, it would be an incredible accomplishment, to be the leader for a franchise in tackles — that’s something that every kid dreams of, especially a kid in my position. I never thought I would be signing a contract to play my 14th season with the same organization. It’s incredible, man. It’s very humbling, it’s very amazing. It would be great to do that, but at the same time, I’m just blessed to be able to play this game.
“‘D.B’ is Mr. Franchise. Everybody wants to model what they do after Derrick Brooks, on the field and off the field. To be mentioned in the same breath is always incredible for me.”
One of the reasons David is in a position to break the record is that Tampa Bay has continued to re-sign him. It’s a trend for the Bucs, who have retained players like David, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin throughout their careers.
“[The Buccaneers] have been loyal to their guys — a lot of organizations aren’t like that,” David said. “For those guys to be transparent with us and have that back-and-forth communication about how important they feel we are to them and how much we want to be back and play for this city, I think that’s incredible. For everybody to just get on board and get on the same page and make things happen ASAP, that’s really underrated. I don’t think it’s talked about enough.
“That just goes to show how much they believe in the guys they bring in. I think is a testament from the ownership all the way down.”
A second-round pick in 2012, David started all 17 games for Tampa Bay last season, totaling 122 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception.
The Steelers have brought back another one of their own receivers.
Last week, they re-signed Ben Skowronek. Today, they announced that Scotty Miller has returned, on a one-year deal.
A sixth-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2019, Miller spent four year in Tampa, one in Atlanta, and one in Pittsburgh.
In 13 games with one start in 2024, he caught five passes for 69 yards.
His best season came in 2020 with the Bucs, with 33 catches for 501 yards and three touchdowns. Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl that year.
Last week, the Steelers traded for D.K. Metcalf, and Van Jefferson left via free agency. The other top names on the depth chart include George Pickens and Calvin Austin III.
In 2024, the Steelers drafted former Michigan receiver Roman Wilson in the third round; he appeared in only one game last season, with five offensive snaps and no statistics.
Haason Reddick’s run of four straight seasons with at least 11 sacks came to an end in 2024 and limited production on the field was only part of the reason.
Reddick was traded by the Eagles to the Jets last offseason and did an introductory press conference with the team before deciding to hold out in hopes of landing a new contract. He ended it during the season, but had just one sack in 10 games for the AFC East club.
Reddick signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Buccaneers this week and said that he feels ready to pick up from where he was before the lost season.
“Very bizarre,” Reddick said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “Weird. It’s just a fresh start. I know everybody is worried about last year, but last year is last year,” he said Friday. “I’m here now. Different mindset. Different space. Just ready to put the past behind me and continue to move forward, and what better place to do it than here?”
If Reddick can rediscover his form, he’ll be well positioned for a bigger contract at this time next year and the Bucs defense will be a thorny one for opposing offenses.
Sterling Shepard will be back with the Buccaneers in 2025.
General Manager Jason Licht announced on social media that Tampa Bay has agreed to a one-year deal with Shepard.
A second-round pick in 2016, Shepard joined the Bucs last season after eight years with the Giants. He caught 32 passes for 334 yards with a touchdown and rushed eight times for 69 yards in 14 games.
Shepard played his final season at Oklahoma with Baker Mayfield behind center back in 2015 and the two reunited last season.
In 104 career games, Shepard has tallied 404 catches for 4,429 yards with 24 touchdowns.
Free agent offensive tackle Charlie Heck is signing a one-year deal with the Buccaneers, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
Heck likely will serve as the team’s swing tackle, replacing Justin Skule, who is joining the Vikings.
The Texans made Heck a fourth-round pick in 2020, and he played four seasons in Houston. He appeared in 41 games and started 21.
After the Texans cut Heck out of training camp last summer, Heck joined the Cardinals’ practice squad. He stayed there until signing with the 49ers on Christmas Day. He played seven games for the Cardinals and made two starts for the 49ers.
Heck played 117 offensive snaps and 37 on special teams last season.
He has appeared in 50 games in his career with 23 starts.
The Vikings have agreed to terms with free agent offensive tackle Justin Skule, Alec Lewis of TheAthletic.com reports.
Skule will provide insurance for left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who tore an ACL and MCL in a game against the Rams on Oct. 25.
Skule played all 17 games with five starts for the Buccaneers last season.
He spent his first three seasons with the 49ers, who drafted him in the sixth round in 2019. He appeared in 31 games with 12 starts in San Francisco.
Skule joined the Bucs in 2022 and played 35 games with five starts in Tampa.
The Patriots met with the media on Thursday to discuss their early offseason moves and at least one they didn’t make.
Reports indicated that the Patriots made an effort to sign wide receiver Chris Godwin, who said he was “really close” to joining another team before he decided to return to the Buccaneers. During Thursday’s press conference, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Godwin and the team’s plan to address the wide receiver position in the future.
Vrabel declined to comment on any pursuit of Godwin while saying that the Patriots will still be looking for additions at the position.
“I’m not going to talk about any of the players other than the ones that are right here and the ones that are currently on our football team,” Vrabel said, via a transcript from the team. “We’ll continue to target. Mack Hollins will be in here tomorrow. He’s a wide receiver. But we’ll continue to look at the wide receiver position as it relates to free agency, explore every option with other teams, and potentially then we’ll get to the point where we’re looking at the draft. There’s just a lot of time, and I know that everybody is like, it’s over in free agency. It’s never over.”
Vrabel had a similar answer to a question regarding center David Andrews’s release and the team’s offensive line plans. That area and receiver were seen as major needs as they build around quarterback Drake Maye heading into his second season.
The Buccaneers are set to make a veteran addition to their linebacker group.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team has agreed to terms with Anthony Walker on a one-year deal.
Walker will help fill the hole left by K.J. Britt. Britt will returning the favor as he has agreed to a deal to help replace Walker on the Dolphins defense.
Walker played 14 games and made eight starts for the Dolphins last season. He had 68 tackles, a sack, an interception, and two passes defensed.
The Bucs also re-signed Lavonte David this week. SirVocea Dennins remains under contract while J.J. Russell was not tendered as a restricted free agent.
K.J. Britt is moving further South in Florida.
The former Buccaneers linebacker is signing a one-year deal with the Dolphins, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Britt, 25, was a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft. He’s appeared in 59 games with 15 starts — 11 of which came in 2024.
He had his most productive season last year, tallying 72 total tackles with two for loss and a half-sack. Britt was on the field for 65 percent of defensive snaps in games played and 29 percent of special teams snaps.
In all, Britt has posted 126 total tackles with four for loss and two QB hits.
The Buccaneers are making an addition to their secondary.
Tampa Bay has reached an agreement on a one-year contract with former Detroit cornerback Kindle Vildor, his agents told Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Vildor was one of the few players who played all 17 games on an otherwise injury-ravaged Lions defense last season. He got two starts and played 22 percent of Detroit’s defensive snaps and 48 percent of Detroit’s special teams snaps.
Originally a fifth-round draft pick of the Bears in 2020, Vildor also played briefly for the Titans.
