‘He was a hammer’: Linebacker makes presence felt in Raiders debut
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Devin White, fresh off making a team-high 11 tackles in his Raiders debut Sunday, lit up in the locker room when reminded of the last time he reached double-digit tackles in a game.
It came in the 2023 season opener, when the linebacker was still with the Buccaneers.
“That was my fifth season,” White said after the Raiders’ 20-13 victory over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. “We played the Vikings.”
White’s memory was as spot on as his performance. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft out of LSU, who signed a one-year deal with the Raiders this offseason, looked like his old self Sunday.
‘It’s a great start’
There were some doubts whether White, 27, could ever resemble the player that was a second-team All-Pro in 2020 and a Pro Bowler in 2021 again. Injuries and some personal issues, including the death of his father in 2022, caused his production to decline.
Tampa Bay let White walk before last season. He signed with the Eagles, but was released before ever playing a snap with the team. He ended the 2024 campaign as a role player with the Texans.
White, looking for a fresh start, elected to join the Raiders. First-year general manager John Spytek was in the Buccaneers front office when he was drafted and knew what he was capable of at his best.
White played as well as the Raiders could have hoped for Sunday. He helped the defense limit New England to six points the final three quarters.
“I was just playing hard, trying to get everyone lined up and execute,” White said. “Those were the only things I could think about. I just knew we were having fun.”
It was a great showing. But White wants to make sure he maintains the same standard the rest of the season.
“For me, it’s a great start,” he said. “It’s just one game, but we can build off this with momentum and energy. Individually, it doesn’t mean much to me. I just have to get back to the drawing board and be consistent with what I put out today because I can be that person all year. I played at a high level for a long time. Had a couple setbacks, but I don’t dwell on the past. I focus on the future and the controllables and that means going in tomorrow and getting ready for the next one.”
‘He was a hammer’
White, because starting middle linebacker Elandon Roberts left early with an elbow injury, spent most of Sunday’s game communicating with the sideline and relaying play calls to teammates.
Coach Pete Carroll said that process went smoothly despite the Raiders having to adjust in the middle of a game. White’s ability to handle that role was one of a number of things that impressed Carroll.
“He was a hammer. He looked good. I was really excited that his presence was so obvious,” Carroll said. “He’s had a couple years where his game hasn’t been at that level that he played at yesterday, and so he’s just getting going and had fun playing. He handled a lot of communication, and he hit the heck out of it. So that was really encouraging, really fired up for him.”
Roberts’ injury tested the Raiders’ depth at linebacker. They entered the season with four veterans in White, Roberts, Germaine Pratt and Jamal Adams, plus two youngsters in second-year reserve Tommy Eichenberg and rookie Cody Lindenberg.
White played all 71 of the team’s defensive snaps Sunday, but Eichenberg did well in his 14 plays on the field.
“They asked me (about our depth) this week and I said I’m taking my guys like Tommy,” White said. “Everybody always emphasizes the older guys, but we’ve been grooming the younger guys to be prepared and be ready for anything. We just got tried in Week 1. One of our big dogs goes down and Tommy steps in and does an excellent job.”
Eichenberg credited his teammates and coaches for helping him be ready for the moment.
“(White) did a great job helping everyone get set. He was on it and we didn’t miss a beat,” Eichenberg said.
Strong showing
The Raiders defense, thanks to White’s help, got off to a great start despite entering the season with plenty of question marks.
“We know our offense is good and we know we give them problems in practice,” White said. “They make us better just like we do. I’m not really a social media person. I’m a Facebook type of guy. I’m just on there watching horse videos and stuff so I don’t really see all that extra stuff.”
White may want to check his feed this week, because the reviews are pretty positive. Now it’s up to him to keep it that way.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.