Luke Kuechly’s Hall of Fame selection is a great sign for Lavonte David’s chances after he retires
The former Panthers linebacker kind of paved the way for David’s own bust.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers have had some championship-caliber teams over the last couple of decades thanks to some of the best players to ever play the game.
Many of them have been recognized for their accomplishments with a bust in the Hall of Fame, too. Another was just added on Thursday night during the latest edition of the NFL Honors ceremony: former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly.
This was Kuechly’s second year of eligibility, meaning he didn’t make the cut his inaugural year. While it’s never fun to wait, getting in the second go-around is a pretty sweet deal and it’s well deserved on Kuechly’s end.
It should also allow Lavonte David to breathe a sigh of relief due to the fact he’s been highly under appreciated his entire career despite putting together a Hall of Fame resume, himself.
Lavonte David watches his Hall of Fame odds rise even more after Kuechly’s addition
Let’s just be real: Tampa Bay is a smaller-market franchise that doesn’t receive, nor command, the attention of the top markets like Dallas, New York, Washington, etc.
That’s not a knock or anything, it’s just the truth regardless of whether it’s fair or not. Therefore, it’s a lot harder for Buccaneers players to get noticed unless there’s a generational element involved like the historical defense from 2002 or Tom Brady from 2020-2022.
It’s a big reason why David has just one first-team All-Pro and one Pro Bowl to his name. The man has deserved far better than that over his career. He just happened to join the Buccaneers during one of their lowest times as a franchise and there was a ton of star power on the roster once they won the Super Bowl in 2020 (the aforementioned Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, Mike Evans, etc).
It’s simply been bad timing for most of his career, yet he still managed to compile one of the most impressive linebacker careers, ever.
Lavonte David’s stats and ranks among off-ball LBs since 2012
- Total tackles: 1,716 (2nd)
- Sacks: 42.5 (2nd)
- Tackles for loss: 177 (1st)
- QB hits: 79 (3rd)
- Interceptions: 14 (3rd)
- Forced Fumbles: 33 (1st)
David has been one of the NFL’s best linebackers since he was drafted in 2012 and we’re talking top-3 status for players drafted that year or since. He’s been able run, hit, cover, blitz, and lead at a high level year-in, year-out.
And, like Kuechly, he’s been ride-or-die with the team that’s drafted him since Day 1. He’s stuck with the Buccaneers through the highs and lows, just like Kuechly. It’s wild to think the Panthers and Bucs both featured two of the best linebackers to ever play the game during the same era, for the most part.
Despite the accomplishments and the fact he should get in, it’s been heavily questioned when that actually happens due to the lack of attention in the first place.
But if Kuechly, a player from an even smaller market in the Carolina Panthers, can get in the second time around with a resume far less impressive than David’s, it has to mean David should have his own bust in relatively quick fashion, right?
As we saw this year with the Bill Belichick fiasco – anything can happen. But, right now, it’s hard to not feel good about LVD’s future bust.
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