Devin White appears to have had a change of heart—to some degree.
Despite requesting a trade in April in a bid for a new contract, the former Pro Bowler joined the rest of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates on Tuesday for the opening of training camp.
While White was in attendance on the first day of camp, he did not participate in any on-field work. Both head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht were reluctant to guarantee White would practice on Wednesday while speaking with reports.
Licht noted that he assumes White will practice in a hypothetical scenario to “put himself in the best position to be ready for the season.”
The inability to find a trade suitor for a highly-productive 25-year-old linebacker may seem odd on the surface. However, the stats don’t tell the whole story for White.
The LSU product is undeniably one of the NFL’s most talented players at his position and has a knack for flashing his tantalizing skillset in big play situations. He’s a stat sheet stuffer, collecting 20.5 career sacks and amassing 124-plus tackles in three consecutive seasons. Yet, he grades out atrociously from an analytics standpoint, posting a career Pro Football Focus grade of just 44.2.
From the Bucs’ perspective, they’d likely want a high-end return for White in a trade. After all, he’s a former No. 5 overall pick who is likely entering the prime of his career and boasts high-end production. However, that theoretical asking price likely wouldn’t sit well with suitors, who’d prefer a price tag that better aligns with the player they see on film.
This would explain why a trade failed to materialize this summer.
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