Devin White’s time with the Eagles has come to a swift conclusion.
The former first-round linebacker was released on Tuesday, according to a team announcement.
White began his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was a statistically impactful player.
However, he lost his starting position late in the 2023 season, making his departure from the open market less surprising.
After signing a one-year deal with the Eagles, he has yet to appear in a regular season game. Now, the team has decided to move on.
Once a No. 5 overall pick, White had been seeking a contract extension with the Bucs that would have made him one of the highest-paid middle linebackers in the NFL.
Instead, he took a one-year contract worth $4 million with Philadelphia, of which $3.5 million was guaranteed.
This decision is likely to result in a dead money charge of just over $3 million, although Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that White reached an agreement that could offer the team “potential savings.”
Nonetheless, this release marks a rather unceremonious end to their relationship.
White seemed poised to assume a starting role during the summer, but he began the season as a backup.
Due to his limited experience on special teams, he was a healthy scratch in Week 2 after missing the season opener with an ankle injury.
Rather than remaining on the sidelines – barring further injuries up the depth chart – both the player and team have chosen to part ways.
Since this release occurred before the trade deadline, White will not be subject to waivers.
This means the LSU product is free to sign with any interested team as he looks to restore his market value.
Given the recent downturn in his career, interest may be limited, but he did record at least 124 tackles each season from 2020 to 2022 and accumulated 23 sacks during his time with the Buccaneers.
He could serve in a rotational role for a team seeking linebacker depth, especially one planning to address the position via trade.
Meanwhile, the Eagles will proceed with Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean – who won the starting job over White during training camp – as their starting linebackers.
It will be interesting to see if they make any depth additions, particularly targeting contributions on special teams.
In any case, White will now focus on finding a fresh opportunity to restart his career.
