A long time in the making, Devin White feels revitalized as a Raider

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

Tom Brady is not meddling in the day-to-day operations of the Raiders going into his first season as a minority owner with the franchise.

General manager John Spytek and coach Pete Carroll have said they chat with Brady frequently and describe him as always available to them, but there’s more distance between the legendary 47-year-old and the players. Most members of the roster who were asked said they had never spoken with longtime New England Patriot quarterback.

New linebacker Devin White is one of the notable and obvious exceptions. The 27-year-old was Brady's teammate for three years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including on the 2020-2021 squad that won the final of Brady’s seven career Super Bowls.

The two reconnected after White signed a one-year, $1.17 million free-agency contract with the Raiders.

“I got to say some words with him and just kind of talk to him about him being another inside piece and his vision for the team and how he can help me and how we can help the team as far as past experience,” White said.

White clarified that the player he calls “one of the best guys I’ve ever been around” in the locker room wasn’t part of his recruitment to Las Vegas. But the No. 1 driving force in bringing him to town was Spytek, whom Brady helped hire after their past history including as college teammates at Michigan and working in Tampa Bay together.

It’s ironic that Brady, a Raider rival for two decades, had at least an indirect hand in what had to feel like a full-circle moment to some fans getting White in Silver and Black.

White, a former All-American linebacker at Louisiana State, was linked to the Raiders going into the 2019 NFL Draft but ended up going fifth overall — one spot behind where the team chose edge rusher Clelin Ferrell.

The 6-foot, 237-pound White might not have started his career with the Raiders, but now he’s out to revive it in a place where he says he immediately feels like he belongs.

“All my teammates like me, and they know they’re going to get the best out of me,” White said. “Those are the main goals, and just also just going out there and playing to that All-Pro, Pro Bowl level. If that's not why I'm playing the game, then I shouldn't be out there. So, I can put that on front street as what I'm trying to do.”

It’s been several years since White has played at that level, making him the biggest-name reclamation project the Raiders have undertaken ahead of training camp beginning in three weeks.

White tortured Raiders fans who lamented he should have been the pick over Ferrell early on his career. While Ferrell dipped in and out of the lineup as a starter, White made the All-Rookie team in his first season, advanced to second-team All-Pro status in his second and reached the Pro Bowl (then at Allegiant Stadium) in his third.

It started to unravel from there. The Buccaneers benched White in 2023 before the Philadelphia Eagles picked him up going into last season.

The eventual Super Bowl champions released White before he ever played a snap early in the season, however, and he caught on with the Houston Texans where he appeared in seven games with one start and 176 total snaps.

Ferrell, meanwhile, has helped teams reach the NFC Championship Game as a primary starter in back-to-back seasons — first with the San Francisco 49ers and then the Washington Commanders.

With the Raiders, White is out to prove that his decline had more to do with injuries than any dip of ability. He lost the starting spot he held with the Eagles throughout training camp due to an ankle injury and also described lingering issues with his foot that have since been resolved through rehab.

“That don’t really matter,” White said when asked if fans had forgotten about his peak. “I don't really care what nobody thinks. I accomplished a lot in life, and I've still got goals to hit. So, me reaching my goals, they'll find out and they'll remember. They're going to say, ‘OK, all right.'"

White should have plenty of opportunities based on mandatory minicamp and on-field sessions during offseason team activities. He was entrenched as a starter next to fellow free-agent newcomer Elandon Roberts and brought the energy Carroll preaches on a daily basis.

White was so spirited that it seemed to annoy top rookie draft pick Ashton Jeanty, who joked White was the player he’d most like to challenge to a Power Slap fight on Maxx Crosby’s podcast. The linebacker jokingly declined the challenge and said he’s just trying to bring the best out of his highly touted running back teammate.

“I told him, ‘Bro, I was in a division with Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey for four or five years, and they brought it,’” White said. “So, I'm just sharing nuggets with him, teaching him how to get open on his routes and what to do and what not to do, and what we look for as far as when we guard backs. But he can tell you he had no catches on me — none in the offseason. So that just tells you who’s up, and he better be ready for training camp.”

If White’s report is correct, that could be major cause for optimism. Jeanty was a big part of the Raiders’ passing attack in May and June practices, and one of White’s weaknesses in the past has been in coverage.

Perhaps that’s a trait defensive coordinator Patrick Graham could help fix or at least cover up though. He’s shown a knack for that in the past, most recently with Robert Spillane the past two years.

The linebacker arrived in Las Vegas with a reputation as being a liability against the pass, but made a number of plays before drawing a three-year, $33 million contract with the Patriots in free agency.

White praised the way Graham tailors his defense toward his players and the vision he’s shared with how he plans to use the linebackers this season.

“His experience is a positive,” Graham said of White. “I would say that his flexibility for the position (is a positive). He's played all over the field before, he's been productive, both in the run, in the pass game, in different ways. Whether it's blitzing, whether it's covering people, whether it's manipulating the front. So, it's always a positive to have a good football player, it's always a positive to have a smart football player, and then you put that on top of experience, you just overall (hope) it comes to fruition once we get going."

The Raiders added a third veteran linebacker at the end of minicamp, fellow 2019 draft product Germaine Pratt, after he was released by the Cincinnati Bengals.

It remains to be seen how Pratt’s presence affects White’s workload. But it was evident heading into training camp that White was ahead of the glut of young linebackers on the roster like Tommy Eichenberg, Cody Lindenberg and Amari Gainer in the competition for playing time.

A roundabout path led White with the Raiders, but perhaps it’s a team he was always meant to play on.

“I look at it as an opportunity I’m very grateful for,” White said. “That's why I've been taking advantage of the OTAs and everything, the phases, to just come here and work my butt off and just show them that I'm committed, I'm bought in and I appreciate the process.”