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Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Lavonte David announces NFL retirement after 14 seasons

Meby: Nick Geddes03/24/26NickGeddesNews

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David announced his retirement from the NFL after 14 seasons on Tuesday. David, 36, said after the 2025 season that he would either return to the Buccaneers for a 15th season or call it a career. He decided to walk away Tuesday as one of the greatest players in franchise history.

“I’ll always be a Buccaneer,” David said during a press conference at the AdventHealth Training Center. “It’s Bucs for life.”

David, a 2012 second-round pick out of Nebraska, made an immediate impact upon becoming a Buccaneer. He followed up a stellar rookie season by earning his first and only First-Team All-Pro nod in 2013.

David continued to play at a high level, making his first Pro Bowl in 2015, though team success never followed. Then came 2020, when Tom Brady arrived in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers made the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and became the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl inside their own home stadium. That season, David earned Second-Team All-Pro honors.

David will wrap up his career with 1,716 combined tackles, the most in franchise history ahead of Derrick Brooks and seventh-most in NFL history. He will finish his career as one of just two players with 1,500-plus tackles, 40-plus sacks, and 10-plus interceptions, the other being Ray Lewis. David is also one of five players with 40-plus sacks, 30-plus forced fumbles, and 10-plus interceptions, joining Brooks, Mo Lewis, Greg Lloyd, and Julius Peppers. He is fourth all-time in tackles for loss with 177.

Lavonte David on retirement: ‘It’s time’

“It’s time,” David told Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated. “I’ve been playing football since I was 6 years old. Thirty years straight of football. I never missed a year. A lot of time, man. When it’s time, when you know, you know. I always wanted to be a guy who wanted to retire on my own terms. Right now is the perfect opportunity for that. I give glory to God for me to be able to play football for this long. 

“For me, man, 14 years [in the NFL] is enough. I’m comfortable with my decision. I’m satisfied with my career. When I first got into the league, I never, never, ever in a million years expected to play 14 years at a high level for the same organization. And it’s something that doesn’t come around often. I think it’s time that I hang it up and let the next generation of players come in and take over the game.”

David is first eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2031. Despite the lack of personal accolades, David should garner plenty of consideration as one of the best linebackers of his generation alongside Luke Kuechly and Bobby Wagner.

David isn’t the only other Buccaneer great who won’t be in red and pewter next season. Wide receiver Mike Evans signed with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this month, ending his 12-year tenure with the franchise. Longtime radio announcer Gene Deckerhoff also announced his retirement after the 2025 season.

It’s officially a new era of Buccaneer football with David and Evans gone. Both will be shoo-ins to go into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.