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Bucs rookie Devin White suffers some growing pains in return
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Eduardo Encina, Tampa Bay Times, published 14 October 2019
Bucs rookie linebacker Devin White wants to be one of the best, and he realizes he has some learning to do to get there. And in Sunday’s humbling 37-26 loss to the Panthers in London, he was taken to school.
White returned to the field in London, four weeks after an knee injury in Charlotte sidelined him, and in the first half he received a quick lesson from Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey.
Leading 10-7, the Panthers had first-and-10 at the Bucs 25. White’s responsibility was to cover McCaffrey in the flat, but instead, he shadowed a receiver coming over the middle. That allowed McCaffrey to take a swing pass along the left side, break three tackles — including a stiff arm that knocked White down — on his way to the end zone.
"I know I have to be on top of my game because part of that next step in the NFL is mentally, being all the way in it, and I got caught slipping and I had to pay for it and that's a tough feeling," White said. "I still feel bad for it because if I didn't have that mental error, it would have been closer than what it was."
White exited the last meeting with the Panthers after six plays, so Sunday was just his second full game. "I was trying to be greedy," White said. "I saw him in the flat just sitting there. It happens but it can't happen. That's the thing about being a great pro, little things like that can't happen.
McCaffrey's score marked the beginning of 17 unanswered points for the Panthers, who built leads of 27-7 and 34-10 before winning. "I need to keep getting into my playbook, meeting with my coaches and just becoming more of a student of the game so I can play faster and just do my thing," White said.
The Bucs actually held McCaffrey to 57 yards, including 31 rushing. His lowest two totals this season have come against Tampa Bay.
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