Buccaneers LB Lavonte David, 12-time captain, retires from NFL - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — Buccaneers inside linebacker Lavonte David — a 12-time captain, key member of their Super Bowl LV-winning team in 2020 and the longest-tenured player on the Bucs' current roster — is retiring after 14 seasons.

David, who turned 36 in January, will discuss his decision Tuesday at a news conference at the AdventHealth Training Center auditorium.

Since entering the league in 2012, David has ranked first in solo tackles (1,171) while his 177 tackles for a loss ranks second. He was selected to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade team. He is one of just three players to record 40-plus sacks and 35-plus takeaways, along with Pro Football Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher.

Since tackles became an officially tracked metric in 1994, David is one of just seven players to reach 1,700 career tackles, along with Derrick Brooks, Lewis, Junior Seau, Zach Thomas, London Fletcher and Bobby Wagner.

David has 41.5 sacks, 32 forced fumbles and 14 interceptions in his career. He is also one of just four players in league history to record 40 career sacks, 30 forced fumbles and 10 interceptions, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Julius Peppers, Mo Lewis and Greg Lloyd.

In David's final regular-season game with the Bucs, he tied Pro Football Hall of Famer and Buccaneer Ring of Honor member Derrick Brooks' franchise tackle record of 1,714, which is also sixth all-time since Statspass began recording tackles as a metric in 1994. His 215 games played are third most in team history behind Brooks (224) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Rondé Barber (241).

David paid tribute to Barber in the Bucs' 38-35 victory at the eventual Super Bowl champion-Seattle Seahawks this past year, when he secured a late interception in the game and pointed