HOUSTON – Devin White was in a crash course to learn the Texans’ playbook, arriving early at their training facility and staying late to study overtime. His hope was to build enough belief from the coaching staff in his knowledge that they would feel comfortable inserting him into his first regular-season game in a year.
Five days after signing a one-year, $1.125 million, prove-it deal with no guaranteed money, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl linebacker was lining up with the first-team defense and played half the defensive snaps in a pivotal 23-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium.
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For days, White wasn’t sure if all of his homework would pay off with any playing time until linebackers coach Bill Davis told him last Friday to be ready to go in the game.
“It was kind of a toss-up,” White said. “They just kept saying just work hard, just come to practice and work hard. I spent a lot of extra time off here in the morning. I’m like one of the last ones to leave because I just want to learn the defense so I could be able to help and for them to feel comfortable with me being out there and being able to call everything they want to call.”
Cut by the Philadelphia Eagles after being inactive for the first five games of the season, White joined the Texans and hit the ground running. He recorded three tackles and nearly split a sack with defensive tackle Tim Settle Jr., shedding rust in the process. He had three hurries on blitzes and four pressures overall with two missed tackles.
“You had to mentally lock in,” White said. “I hadn’t really played a series in a long, long time. That was the only hard part when they got us on a long series, being able to just keep my composure and just dig deep. They ran me a couple of times. Other than that, I feel like everything was fun.
“I played okay. Got to be better. Got to finish a lot of those plays, be a little more sound in my technique, just going through the learning stage. It’s about ball, making sure I’m attacking the ball, finishing every play and just giving it my all, just putting your best foot out there for the coaches my teammates to see that and earn trust.”
White didn’t start, but he played the same amount of snaps as Jake Hansen, a backup standing in for an injured Henry To’oTo’o with middle linebacker Neville Hewitt playing every snap with team captain Azeez Al-Shaair out with a knee injury for the second week in a row.
“I love it,” White said of his fit in the Texans’ defense. “I just want to be able to help even more, get myself in better shape, put myself in a better position to make plays and just continue to earn the trust of the guys on the sideline. Everybody in the linebacker room, they had my back. If I got any questions, nobody shies away from answering. So, we can all be on the same page. At the end of the day, it’s about winning.”
#Texans linebacker Devin White on his debut with new team @DevinWhite__40 @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/SdPa7UT75J
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 27, 2024
Competing against a talented Colts backfield headlined by running back Jonathan Taylor and up-and-down quarterback Anthony Richardson, White held his own.
“Two great guys that can run the ball,” White said. “Richardson has got a big arm, you know he can sling. He can extend plays and he showed us that. They get paid to do that and we get paid to stop them. I think we won one more time than they did. So, that’s just a testament to the team.”
The conversations with a fellow Pro Bowl linebacker left White convinced that the Texans were the right place for him to reboot his NFL career.
White is embracing this fresh start and playing for coach DeMeco Ryans, a former Pro Bowl linebacker and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
“Coach DeMeco, he’s got a great history of putting out great backers and he’s got a great system,” White said inside the Texans’ locker room in his first interview since joining the defending AFC South champions. “When I talked to him on the phone I felt like everything was genuine. He reached out multiple times, and just told me to come here and compete. He was like, ‘I can’t promise you nothing. You come here and compete, I’ll find a place for you.’ I only can respect that.”
Cut by the Eagles after not playing a regular-season snap and not signed to the lucrative long-term contract he had been seeking from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite achieving Pro Bowl status and winning a Super Bowl title as he picked off Patrick Mahomes and returned it for a touchdown, White was being selective for his next destination.
“I had a lot of opportunities to play, and this team stuck out like a sore thumb,” White said. “They was already rolling, they got a couple guys down right now, but they still rolling, still finding ways to get it done. I just want to add value to it.”
White was signed by general manager Nick Caserio, after being released by the Eagles after signing a one-year, $7.5 million contract in March. The Texans signed White without a workout after auditioning free agent linebackers Jabrill Cox and Michael Barrett.
White, 26, (6-foot, 237 pounds), has recorded 569 career tackles, 23 sacks, six forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries, and three interceptions. He requested a trade last year in Tampa Bay, but wound up playing out the fifth-year option on his rookie deal as no common ground could be reached on a contract. This year, he was inactive for the first four games and didn’t play against Tampa Bay for undisclosed personal reasons.
A former LSU star and fifth overall pick, White has been at the top of his profession before. Perhaps this change of scenery can get him back to that level.
“It’s no secret that Devin has been an All-Pro, top linebacker in this league coming out of college,” Ryans said. “He was a no-miss player. He went top 10 in the Draft, I mean, he was an exceptional talent. So, what happened and why he’s here, no one knows. Life happens to us all. You just have to keep punching, keep attacking each day with the right mindset, and opportunity for Devin is to come in here and compete. Again, nothing’s promised. We don’t know what the future holds. It’s just one day at a time, compete every day and we’ll see where we end up. We wanted to add him to give him an opportunity to see where he can come in and help us. That’s what it was about.”
“Just obviously experienced. Has played linebacker at a pretty high level in this league. So, just an opportunity for him to come in and kind of see how he fits in the system and fits in the room and we’ll go from there. So, obviously, kind of in the process of kind of learning what he does for us and how long he takes to adapt to our style and our calls and stuff. But his trio of production and experience playing at a high level in this league. So, a good opportunity for us and for him.”
White has 4.42 speed in the 40-yard dash and size and hitting ability working in his favor. He was once one of the rangiest linebackers in the NFL. It didn’t work out with the Eagles, though, under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio as they started Nakobe Dean ahead of him after he injured his ankle. White once told the Buccaneers he didn’t want to go in the game due to a foot injury, but it was widely regarded that he didn’t want to come off the bench.
Last year, he had 83 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks and dealt with foot and groin injuries before losing his starting job to K.J. Britt toward the end of the season.
Regardless of the past, it’s, just that, in the past for the Louisiana native.
“I ain’t thinking about Philly,” White said. “I did what I had to do. I put my best foot forward and I did everything I had to do. It didn’t work out in my favor. God gave me another opportunity right here in the South. I’m enjoying it. I’m embracing it. I’m coming to work every day and put my best foot forward.”
For now, White is a backup. The Texans hope to get Al-Shaair back in the weeks to come from a knee injury. To’oTo’o is in the final stages of the NFL concussion protocol and his status will be determined this week for a Thursday night game against the New York Jets.
Eventually, White hopes to display more of his high-energy style under Ryans’ direction.
“He wants you to go make plays,” White said. “He talked about being around the ball, attacking the ball,. I feel like that’s what I’m about to play. My game allows me to play fast and just play with a lot of energy around him. I feel like every thing that he talked about, I feel like I got it in my game and everything that he wants to add to my game, I’m willing to receive that. I’m an open book and I respect everything.
The swagger of the Texans was appealing to White, and now he’s a part of that culture.
“I just want to have fun on a winning team and playing great defense,” he said. “I want to be a part of that. These guys here have got a lot of swagger. I’m a player with a lot of swag. I just want to add to it and come out victorious.”
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Aaron Wlson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
