TAMPA, Fla. -- Minutes before kickoff for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Week 9 game against the Seattle Seahawks, middle linebacker Devin White huddled his fellow rookies together. Cornerback Carlton Davis had just suffered a hip injury in warm-ups, meaning Jamel Dean, who had played just three defensive snaps up until that point, would get his first NFL start, and White sensed some jitters.
“This is what they brought us here to do,” White told them.
White showed what he was capable of in the third quarter, when he ran more than 50 yards to overtake running back Chris Carson and strip him of the ball.