{"id":868490,"date":"2026-04-17T15:49:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/868490\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:49:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:49:43","slug":"source-buccaneers-hopeful-david-walker-will-be-ready-for-otas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/868490\/","title":{"rendered":"Source: Buccaneers ‘hopeful’ David Walker will be ready for OTAs"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Walker tore his ACL during the third training camp practice of the 2025 offseason. His latest injury update places his recovery in a promising direction as the Buccaneers get closer to OTAs.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"David
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Walker speaks with reporters a few days after he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBuccaneers YouTube<\/p>\n

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need help in the pass rush department<\/a> and naturally, many are looking toward the upcoming draft for said assistance.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s already one player on the roster, however, that can help reignite the pass rush in 2026, as long as he\u2019s healthy: David Walker.<\/p>\n

The only issue is Walker tore his ACL during last year\u2019s training camp and has been recovering since. The latest update came via an April 7 interview<\/a> with Pewter Report<\/a> where Walker discussed the possibility of participating in OTAs and beyond. That came after Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said the expectation was for Walker to be ready to go for training camp.<\/p>\n

His availability for OTAs, however, remained unknown. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe trajectory we\u2019re heading on right now, I really don\u2019t know,\u201d Walker said. \u201cIt\u2019s up to the trainers, how good they feel, the confidence they have in my knee and the confidence I have ultimately. I\u2019m hoping to be ready for mini-camp, but either [mini-camp] or [training camp]. We\u2019re doing the cutting, the running, it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n

david walker<\/p>\n

Interview via Pewter Report’s Matt Matera<\/p>\n

A source has informed A to Z Sports that people within the Buccaneers\u2019 building feel \u201chopeful\u201d about Walker\u2019s participation in OTAs. It stems from what they\u2019ve seen during his rehab process and there\u2019s a belief he could be a full go for OTAs. From there, it\u2019d be a slow buildup to training camp.<\/p>\n

If it plays out like the Buccaneers believe, the pass rush depth suddenly looks a lot better on paper. <\/p>\n

How does this play into the Buccaneers\u2019 draft plans at EDGE?<\/p>\n

Personally speaking, I don\u2019t think it should affect their plans, at all. EDGE remains a top priority heading into the draft, as the Buccaneers need to find a true, No. 1 option for both the short- and long-term.<\/p>\n

Walker has all the potential in the world and the past production to match it. At the same time, we have no idea what he\u2019ll look like during the first year of his recovery and while he has the aforementioned potential and production \u2013\u00a0he still has to prove it\u2019ll carry over to the NFL level.<\/p>\n

Remember, he\u2019s yet to even play in a preseason game. The Buccaneers should remain aggressive when it comes to landing a pass rusher early in the draft, even if David Walker\u2019s injury update is as encouraging as it is.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Texas\t\t<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Buccaneers News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBuccaneers rock the first round of the NFL Draft and snag Heisman finalist to fix a major roster hole in latest mock draft\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to nail the 2026 NFL Draft, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Well, they do just in A to Z Sport\u2019s brand new mock draft simulator.<\/p>\n

Buccaneers Injury News<\/a> David Walker<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David Walker tore his ACL during the third training camp practice of the 2025 offseason. His latest injury…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868491,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,117810,2929,7,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-868490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-buccaneers","9":"tag-buccaneers-injury-news","10":"tag-david-walker","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-tampa-bay","14":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","15":"tag-tampabay","16":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116420843714175176","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868490","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=868490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}