KJ Britt’s time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has come

One of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ projected starters at inside linebacker didn’t play a single snap in the preseason. The other played 42.

The one who hasn’t played once – Lavonte David – is preparing for his 13th season with the Bucs and has made 181 regular season appearances. The one who has played 42 times – KJ Britt – is preparing for his fourth season with Tampa Bay and has made four regular season appearances.

“I wanted to get it,” Britt said of his preseason playing time. “If I can get better every day, see reps and get that feeling, then that helps. I want to get as many reps as possible. I need those reps because like I said, it’s just a feeling thing. It’s also about how we approached the week, just going out there, having fun and just playing.”

“It’s still a game I love to play. I’ve been playing it since I was a little kid. It’s just about getting out there, having fun, reminiscing and just playing football.”

David and Devin White formed the Buccaneers’ linebacker duo for the past five seasons, but White joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent in March, creating a vacancy for Britt.

Britt was drafted by Tampa Bay in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Auburn. Through the 11th game of his third NFL season, Britt had been on the field for 815 special teams plays – 148 more than any other Tampa Bay player during that time. But he had only played more than 13 defensive snaps in a game once, and before Britt made his first NFL start on Dec. 3, he had played 17 defensive snaps during the 2023 season.

But David and White struggled with injury issues heading into 2023, and despite being injured twice, including once severe enough to require him to be carried off the field, Britt started six of the Buccaneers’ final eight games, including both playoff games – a 32-9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 15 and a 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions on Jan. 21.

Now it’s Britt’s turn to work with David on a regular basis.

“We have to have a relationship because we have to trust each other,” Britt said, “because we could see something. I could see something he doesn’t see and I could tell him, ‘Hey, report that.’ We play together, coordinate because when it comes to linebackers, they’re like two quarterbacks. You have to have a relationship, so it’s been really beneficial that we’ve taken a lot of reps this training camp. I get a feel for how he plays. He gets a feel for how I play, how we communicate, a lot of talking before the snap, a lot of talking after the snap, so it’s all those little communication keys that help us play faster.

“We’re trying to hit a curve. There’s always a curve when two guys play together, so we’re trying to hit a curve. We played together last year, so it’s no different. But we have a relationship first. So, me and him, we have a really personal relationship, so I’m glad me and him are friends first.”