TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers legendary linebacker Lavonte David is calling it a career. He announced on Tuesday that he is retiring from the NFL.
David spent his entire career of 14 seasons in the NFL with Tampa Bay, the team drafted him in the 2012 NFL Draft in the second round. During his tenure with the Buccaneers, David was voted to be a team captain 12 times. He also helped bring home the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship during the 2020 season.
Buccaneers team owners, the Glazer, family released a statement following the announcement.
Since entering the league, David has ranked first in solo tackles (1,171) while his 177 tackles for a loss ranks second. He was also selected to the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade team.
David is one of just seven players to reach 1,700 career tackles, along with Ray Lewis, Junior Seau, Zach Thomas, London Fletcher, Bobby Wagner, and fellow Buccaneers legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Derrick Brooks.
In Tampa Bay’s regular season finale for 2025, David tied Brooks’s franchise record for tackles with 1,714, which is also sixth all-time since this became a recorded metric stat.
He also played in 215 career games for Tampa Bay. That’s third most in team history behind Brooks (224) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronde Barber who holds the team record at 241 games.
David retires as the Buccaneers franchise record holder in forced fumbles with 33, fumble recoveries with 20 and tackles for a loss.
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