Lavonte David Trusts Baker in Tampa

Lavonte David just retired after fourteen seasons in Tampa, and he is not worried about the Buccaneers even with Mike Evans gone.

Rich opens with the hardest question first. Was David surprised Evans left. David says surprised in a sense, but not off guard. He knows Mike. He understands how Mike thinks. Evans wanted a new challenge. He wanted to be somewhere new. San Francisco gave him that.

Rich pushes on the optics. Fourteen years, one team, one Super Bowl, and Evans willingly gave up the chance to stay the Tampa legend. For a lot of fans, it does not square. David agrees it is hard to grasp. People thought Evans would be the Tampa legend who played his whole career there. Sometimes things just don't work out.

David doesn't disrespect the move. He says Evans still has love for the community, love for the organization, love for his teammates. He also says Evans left the receiver room in a good place. David never actually got a chance to ask Evans why. But from the relationship they have built over the years, David is confident the answer was just, a different challenge.

Rich pivots to what Tampa actually has. Emeka Egbuka out of the Ohio State box, ready to roll. Baker Mayfield already building a connection with him. Chris Godwin still there, a proven veteran and locker room leader. Cade Otton re-signed. Bucky Irving in the backfield. Baker leading the offense.

David's read is clean. Jason Licht and the front office will do what they always do and add the right people. The void of leadership that he and Evans leave behind will get filled.

The Baker conversation is where David leans in. Following Tom Brady is not a normal assignment. David uses the old line. You want to be the guy after the guy who was after the guy. Baker stepped into that spot and kept the division championship run alive until this past year, when things broke differently.

David calls Baker the man. Not because Baker talks a lot. Baker trash talks on the field, but off it, he leads by example. The Bucs allowed Baker to be himself when he arrived, and that is the environment that let him grow.

David sees a second phase coming. Now that Baker knows the locker room and the guys in it, there is room for him to become a more vocal leader if he wants to. For now, what he is doing is working.

The pieces around Baker give David confidence. Vita Vea. Antoine Winfield. YaYa Diaby. Tristan Wirfs. Chris Godwin. David calls them veterans who can carry the load.

Rich catches the phrasing. Pieces and loads. That's Vita Vea all over him. David laughs. The segment ends with a retired captain telling anyone who's listening that his old team is fine. Even without two franchise icons in the building.