After a staggering 1,714 tackles and 215 games — all as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer — Lavonte David is calling it a career.
The 36-year-old David, a one-time Super Bowl winner, All-Pro and Pro Bowl linebacker, announced his retirement Tuesday after 14 seasons in the NFL.
“Fourteen years of playing football, to come to this moment, I never thought I’d be in this situation,” David said at his retirement news conference. “I never thought I’d be here. Growing up, playing the game of football at six years old, I always did it the fun of it, did it for the love of it. Never cared about what came with it just because it was built in me a different way. … My 14-year career has come to an end. I feel it’s time to move on and find a different path. … At the end of the day, I’ll always be a Buccaneer. As always, it’s Bucs for life.”
David started all 215 games he played for the Bucs since he was selected in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Just how long David would keep playing has long been an offseason quandary. In the spring of 2025, he inked his third straight one-year deal with Tampa Bay.
This time around, David won’t be signing another one-year pact.
Instead, he’ll bid adieu to a career that boasts 12 100-tackle seasons, a franchise-record 33 forced fumbles, another club-best of 21 defensive fumble recoveries, 14 interceptions and 42.5 sacks.
