{"id":805389,"date":"2026-03-10T22:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/805389\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T22:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:59:15","slug":"buccaneers-rumors-lavonte-david-could-take-2-paths-but-leaving-tampa-bay-is-off-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/805389\/","title":{"rendered":"Buccaneers rumors: Lavonte David could take 2 paths, but leaving Tampa Bay is off the table"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buccaneers rumors: Lavonte David could take 2 paths, but leaving Tampa Bay is off the table<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The defensive landscape of the NFL is undergoing a major change, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> star Lavonte David<\/a> is clearly frustrated. Speaking with NFL insider Jordan Schultz, David criticized the \u201cNo Fun League\u201d<\/a> for too many rule changes that penalize aggressive defense.<\/p>\n

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The veteran linebacker said he hopes the league will allow replays for unnecessary roughness penalties, noting that many game-changing flags are called for clean, hard hits instead of malicious intent.<\/p>\n

For David, these constant stops take away the passion from the game and make the job of a defensive player harder. Amid his frustrations with the league\u2019s direction, the future of the franchise legend in Tampa Bay appears to be down to two options.<\/p>\n

According to Rick Stroud on X, David\u2019s agent, Ron Butler, told WDAE that the linebacker will either return<\/a> to the Buccaneers in 2026 or retire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the two options,\u201d Butler said, ending rumors of him playing for another team.<\/p>\n

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The decision is expected soon, after David had arthroscopic knee surgery to fix an issue that needed weekly draining last season.<\/p>\n

For the Buccaneers, keeping David is a top priority to keep their defense strong.<\/p>\n

While waiting for David\u2019s final decision, the team has been busy signing other key offensive players.<\/p>\n

After Mike Evans left for the San Francisco 49ers, the Buccaneers re-signed tight end Cade Otton.<\/p>\n

According to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team, Otton has re-signed on a three-year<\/a>, $30 million contract with $20 million fully guaranteed.<\/p>\n

By locking up the 26-year-old tight end, Tampa Bay ensures that its offense retains a reliable target as they navigate a period of significant roster transition.<\/p>\n

Related: Buccaneers bringing back Cade Otton on $20 million deal<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Buccaneers say goodbye to Mike Evans with Hall of Fame promise<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buccaneers rumors: Lavonte David could take 2 paths, but leaving Tampa Bay is off the table appeared first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":805390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,9341,7,9195,700,6,112650,252,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":["post-805389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-buccaneers","tag-cade-otton","tag-football","tag-lavonte-david","tag-mike-evans","tag-nfl","tag-ron-butler","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-tampa-bay","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-tampabay","tag-tampabaybuccaneers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116207364801904561","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}