Buccaneers GM responds to Devin White trade demand

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing a trade demand from one of their star players, placing general manager Jason Licht firmly in the spotlight.

Licht addressed linebacker Devin White’s trade demand on Thursday, and he made it clear that the Buccaneers had no plans to accommodate White’s request.

“We all have all the respect in the world for Devin,” Licht said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN. “He’s done some great things for us and we look forward to more from him in the future. … If he has the type of year we think he’s capable of, we can hopefully put this to rest and everybody’s happy.

“This isn’t something I’m holding against Devin. I still feel he’s a tremendous person. I would never say he’s not the type of teammate we want because of this.”

White’s trade demand is rooted in his contract status. His fifth-year option would pay him roughly $11.7M in 2023, and the linebacker is looking for a substantial raise.

White has started all 17 games for the Bucs in each of the last two seasons. He led the team with 124 tackles and had 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries last season. It remains to be seen if the Buccaneers will grant his contract demands, or how willing White is to discuss them.