Lavonte David says he’s ‘ready to play’ and it could be somewhere other than Tampa Bay

Lavonte David made an appearance on Good Morning Football Thursday and seemed to imply that won’t be retiring this offseason.

Bucs linebacker Lavonte David told WDAE a few days ago that it was either his plan to retire or come back to the Buccaneers. It’s looking more like the latter.

David was on “Good Morning Football” on Thursday, and when asked about his intentions by co-host Jason McCourty, he indicated that retirement isn’t in his immediate future — he wants to suit up.

“I mean, I’m ready to play,” David said on the show. “I still feel like I’ve got a lot left in me — I still wanna give it a shot. I’m gonna let my body tell me when it’s time to give up, but right now, I feel pretty good. I’m confident, especially after the season I just had.”

That certainly doesn’t sound like someone who wants to retire. David did, in fact, have a good year in 2023, racking up 134 combined tackles, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble, so the Bucs will want him back, and it’s clear he wants to come back. Despite that, David said he hasn’t had talks with the Bucs just yet, but that Tampa Bay knows he wants to return.

“Communications haven’t really started up yet, but throughout the season, we all expressed how we feel about one another, and how they’d love me to be back and I would love to be back as well,” David said.

Despite what he said to WDAE, he said on “Good Morning Football” that playing for another team was in fact an option he was considering, saying that “you never know” where free agency could take you.

“I’m not naive to the fact that somebody else could probably come swoop me up,” David said. “I’m definitely open to all options, but I would love to phase out my career in Tampa Bay.”

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