Ok, so let’s just get this over with. Devin White will not be walking through that door at the Buccaneers training facility. Wait, you didn’t hear? The Philadelphia Eagles have released linebacker Devin White.
For some of you, that will make you really upset. But for others (the sane ones), this will not be that upsetting. I really want to believe Devin White coming back will help the team and solve the hole at LB. It really wouldn’t. Please allow me to elaborate.
Nakobe Dean this season has allowed opposing QBs to go 13-for-16 for 143 yards when targeting him He’s also allowed 9.1 yards per target, which is fifth worst among 47 linebackers who’ve been targeted at least 10 times, and the 143 yards allowed are seventh most among linebackers. It’s like KJ Britt on the opposite of steroids. Zach Baun is also not that much better on the other side. These are the starting linebackers for the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite how bad these guys are, Devin White still cannot get onto the field. It either means one of two things: the coaching staff can’t identify talent and are incompetent (which is still possible) or Devin White is worse. Now, I actually do think White is better than Dean And Baun, as low a bar as that is. However, the worrying part is that he is not clearly better than those two.
There is also the fact that in quite a few games, White was healthy scratched in several games for the Bucs like the Eagles. When you are healthy scratched like White is, what it means is that you’re riding the bench because you aren’t playing well. Remember that the team chose at several points in the season, the team chose K.J. Britt over White.
At the end of the day, it did seem like White gave up on the Bucs. And rather than try to bring him back, Jason Licht allowed him to walk for $4 million. Even his biggest cheerleader in Todd Bowles didn’t seem to fight to bring Devin White back. The team let White walk for a reason. I do wish him luck on another team, but he will not do the Buccaneers much good.
