The Detroit Lions are bringing in Devin White on a one-year contract, adding a veteran linebacker after rookie Jimmy Rolder was injured on Friday. The move gives the Lions another proven option as they sort out a room that already includes Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez.
White is not arriving as a mystery project. He started all 17 games for the Las Vegas Raiders last season and finished with 174 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and one interception, production that showed he still handled a full workload. Over his NFL career, White has piled up 759 tackles, 25.5 sacks, 24 pass deflections, seven forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries, four interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.
The signing also brings back a player with a resume that once made him one of the league's fastest-rising defenders. White helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl LV, earned Second Team All-Pro honors in 2020 and made the 2021 Pro Bowl. He was selected fifth overall in the 2019 NFL Draft after starring at LSU, where he once had 133 tackles in his sophomore season.
That track record is why the move matters even with the Lions already carrying depth at linebacker. White is coming in for depth, but the addition comes into a group that Dan Campbell has already described as having a reason for Barnes to be there and as one led by an active linebacker. In other words, the Lions are not replacing their current linebackers; they are trying to make sure one injury does not leave them thin.
White's path since leaving Tampa Bay has been uneven. He requested a trade in 2023, later signed with the Philadelphia Eagles but never played in a game for them, then spent seven games with the Houston Texans in 2024 before joining the Raiders on a one-year deal in March of last year. The Lions are now betting that the version of White who once dominated a championship run can still help stabilize a defense that has already been forced to adjust.
The deal is expected to be finalized as the team moves through camp and toward its first exhibition game against the Cincinnati Bengals on August 13. For the Lions, the immediate task is simple: keep enough healthy bodies in the linebacker room to avoid another short-term scramble, and figure out whether White becomes more than just insurance once the season starts.
