Outside of a handful of stars and underdog fan favorites, Las Vegas Raiders fans haven't gotten super attached to a lot of the players filtering through the building in recent years. The Nation has just felt a general apathy toward most of them, as each new regime brings in "their guys" and ultimately fails.
But some players also stick out as having a particularly rough relationship with the Silver and Black's supporters. Devin White, who started and played nearly every snap at linebacker last year under Pete Carroll, is certainly one of them, as he was an unpopular player in his one season in Las Vegas.
And it seemed like his NFL career may have been hanging in the balance after not getting re-signed by the Raiders and failing to find a home for months on end. But on Saturday, the Detroit Lions ended his misery, signing him to a one-year deal after an injury to one of their linebackers at training camp.
Former Las Vegas Raiders starting LB Devin White signs with Detroit Lions
White, to his credit, broke the single-season franchise record for total tackles in 2025, amassing 174. In a lot of ways, after two shaky campaigns in 2023 and especially in 2024, White got his career back on track, proving that he is capable of handling the rigors of an NFL season once again.
This was, of course, thanks to a lifeline from John Spytek, who knew him from his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But I don't think Spytek envisioned White being an every-down linebacker who didn't leave the field in Las Vegas, especially not in the form that he was in. It was a cheap flyer-type deal.
His heroic-looking tackle number doesn't paint the full picture, either. White recorded 64 run stops, but he also missed 26 tackles in 2025. In fact, he had eight games with two or more missed tackles, as opposed to just five where he didn't have any. It was a consistent problem that plagued Las Vegas.
Not to mention, White struggled massively in coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, White was targeted 105 times last season, which is astonishing enough, but he gave up an unbelievable 83 catches for 671 yards and a handful of touchdowns. He had just one interception and three PBUs.
It was obvious at times that opposing offenses were simply picking on White in coverage, as he had multiple games where he gave up 10 receptions. White allowed at least two receptions in every game, and at least four in 11 of them.
Making matters worse was the fact that White wasn't really bringing players down immediately after they reeled in a catch, either. Pro Football Focus logged him at 426 yards after the catch relinquished, which explains his abysmal 36.1 coverage grade.
He gave up more receptions than any other linebacker in the league, the fourth-most yards and the sixth-most yards after catch. Combine that with White missing the second-most tackles in the NFL, and his astronomical tackle number doesn't sound as impressive anymore.
For all of the above reasons, White was an unpopular Raider in his one-year stint. In addition to his on-field struggles, White got into a social media spat with a Buccaneers reporter, who actually pointed out that volume tackles don't mean a whole lot, and he unsuccessfully called out Travis Kelce.
Honestly, it would not have shocked Raider Nation if White didn't land on another team; he was that bad at times for the Silver and Black. But alas, he has found another opportunity in the NFL and fought off football's Grim Reaper, at least in the meantime.
Behind a trio of good linebackers in star Jack Campbell, Malcolm Rodriguez and Derrick Barnes, plus depth pieces like Damone Clark and Joe Bachie, White may have a hard time finding a role. But fans said the same thing about him last year in Las Vegas.
White is a survivor, but he's not the Raiders' problem anymore. Good luck, Devin White. Prove us wrong!
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