Lavonte David is the Bucs senior statesmen
TAMPA, Fla. - Lavonte David is heading into his 13th season with the Bucs.
With all the veteran departures this offseason, Lavonte is now the oldest man standing.
At 33 years of age, he's the longest-tenured Buccaneer and the senior statesman on the team.
"I've been feeling like that," David said. "Shoot, all of the older guys had been coming in, coming from other places, but I've been here the whole time. I've kind of got a feel firsthand of how everything has been going here. I've seen a lot of people come and go, but now it's really official that I'm the oldest guy on the team. I'm just going to embrace it and do my best to lead the team."
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Lavonte has a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with the Bucs' new generation, and his first bit of advice is, "Don't take it for granted," David said.
"I've always said every year I come into Training Camp thinking I'm a rookie all over again. Learning as a rookie, doing everything as a rookie, and preparing as a rookie. Just don't take this game for granted cause it cause it will be taken away from you."
Lavonte will also be the only player to wear the vintage "creamsicle" uniforms for a second time this Fall.
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"I love it. I love it," David said. "I got a little glimpse of them. They're not like the ones I wore in 2012 at all; you should be in for a surprise. They're really nice, and I definitely like the way they look."
For the last four years, the identity of the Bucs has centered around their explosive offense. With a change in starting quarterback and offensive philosophy, the spotlight will shine on the defense for 2023.
"Our mindset was always take over the game and win football games on our side of the football no matter what our offense does," David said. "Then Tom came, and everybody was automatically thinking that flips, but we will kept that same mindset. Defense wins championships. Defense wins those close football games. That's the kind of mentality we have."