The Devin White Era in Philadelphia is over before it truly began, as the Eagles cut him following five weeks of inaction. A first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, there was a time when the LSU product looked like he would become one of the best linebackers in football. A ferocious hitter with elite measurables, White and fellow star linebacker Lavonte David formed arguably the NFL’s best linebacker duo in 2020 and 2021. During that two-year stretch, White recorded 12 sacks, 268 tackles, 23 tackles-for-loss, and 34 quarterback hits while winning a Super Bowl and earning Pro Bowl and Second-Team All-Pro honors.
Unfortunately, the wheels soon fell off the wagon. White lost the starting job during his final year in Tampa and hoped he could reclaim some of his former value by signing a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. That didn’t go according to plan, as Devin White didn’t play a single snap before the team cut him. White lost some of his magic, but it’s easy to imagine a team like the Baltimore Ravens or Los Angeles Chargers taking a shot on him to see if they can catch lightning in a bottle.
Ravens, Chargers Could Sign Devin White After Unceremonious Cut
The Baltimore Ravens lost several key players in free agency, including former first-round pick Patrick Queen. While the Ravens remain one of the league’s elite teams thanks to the unstoppable duo of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, they could still use some help on the defensive side of the ball. Roquan Smith is having a down year thus far, and former third-round pick Trenton Simpson is struggling to adequately replace the departed Queen. Maybe Devin White has nothing left in his tank, but it can’t hurt for the Ravens to take a shot on the recently cut first-round pick.
Devin White was at his best when he was paired with an elite linebacker in Lavonte David. With David handling the heavy responsibilities, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles utilized White in a limited role that played to his strengths. Perhaps history can repeat itself with the right coaching and Devin White could go from an overlooked cut to a key player on a championship contender. White is at his best as a pure pass rusher, and Baltimore could use an additional player capable of getting after the quarterback.
Jim Harbaugh’s Old School Football
Nobody believes in the power of hard-hitting defense more than Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh. An offensive coach by trade, Harbaugh wants to win football games with a run-heavy offense and a ferocious defense that beats everyone else at the point of attack. Even at his best, Devin White struggled in coverage, but the recently cut linebacker knows how to go north-south in a hurry.
Right now, the Chargers linebackers are led by the relatively undersized 6′-2″, 225-pound Daiyan Henley. Henley has played well despite his smaller build, but Los Angeles could use some more muscle. Devin White might be shorter at 6′-0″, but his 237 pounds of muscle show up as a blitzer. Perhaps he’s not a three-down player at this stage in his career, but he could be a great situational player in Los Angeles.
Main Photo: Kim Klement Neitzel – USA Today Sports
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