Silver And Black Pride
Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar will write about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment, we review the performance of Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Devin White, who put up a first half for the ages against the Tennessee Titans, putting his name back out there after a long time away from his best football.
When you’ve fallen from grace, it can be tough to come back to your best.
Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Devin White had performed quite the disappearing act since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft out of LSU. It worked very well for a while, as White became one half of the NFL’s best linebacker duo with Lavonte David in Todd Bowles’ defense. While David was the do-it-all guy at his position, White became the two-level pass-rusher and run-stopper who could bull through blocks as well as anybody from multiple zones.
Things started to take a downturn in 2023, White’s last season with the Bucs. His productivity was not the same, and contractual issues had him moving on. The Philadelphia Eagles signed him to a one-year, $4 million contract with $3.5 million guaranteed in March 2024, and released him in October. White never played a snap for the impending Super Bowl champs. The Houston Texans took a shot on White a couple weeks after the Eagles punched his ticket, but little happened there. Injuries had taken their toll, and in 2022, White wasn’t entirely sure he still wanted to do the whole football thing.
By the time the Raiders signed White on March 28, he was an afterthought at best. New head coach Pete Carroll, who’s more than familiar with the process by which reclamation projects can succeed again, said in September that guys with that mountain to climb are a major part of the program.
“I think it feels like a common thread, kind of runs throughout our club, that we have guys that come in here with the chip on the shoulder for whatever their reasons in their background. I feel the same way myself, and I feel like we were relating really well, because that’s what we feel like. And so, I love the mentality. They’ve got something to prove, and they’re willing to work for it. That’s the first thing we’re looking for. Are these guys going to come in here and work and buy into what we’re doing and fight with us along the way?
“And we’re very fortunate to have guys like E-Rob [Elandon Roberts] and guys like Jamal [Adams] and [Germaine] Pratt and [Jeremy] Chinn, all of these guys across the board have it, and Devin White is a really good example of that. I’ve always sought those kinds of players, guys that have something to prove, and so I feel very, very lucky to have these guys on our club. And as we’re...
