Lavonte David and Devin White have been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ linebacker duo for five seasons. But each player is headed toward free agency if he doesn’t get a contract extension by March 13.

If that doesn’t get done, Tampa Bay appeared to have gotten a look at its future at linebacker down the stretch of the 2023 season. When David and White ran into injury trouble, K.J. Britt finally got his chance to play regularly on defense for the Bucs.

Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles was asked on Monday if Britt had earned the right to start in 2024.

“Too early for that,” Bowles said. “I think he played well. There’s definitely a place for him next year. We’ll probably get into that as we go into the spring, but we like him.”

Britt still has a season remaining on the four-year contract he signed after joining the Buccaneers from Auburn in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Through the 11th game of his third NFL season, Britt had been on the field for 815 special-teams plays – 148 more than any other Tampa Bay player during that time. But he had played more than 13 defensive snaps in a game only once and, before Britt made his first NFL start on Dec. 3, he had played 17 defensive snaps in the 2023 season.

Despite getting hurt twice, including badly enough to be carted off the field once, Britt started six of the Buccaneers’ final eight games, including both playoff contests – a 32-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 15 and a 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

“I definitely think that I had some good plays,” Britt said on Monday. “I definitely think I had some plays I could learn from. I’m never going to be satisfied with trying to be a starting linebacker in this league. No matter what I got to do, I’m always going to be satisfied with just making sure whenever my number’s called that I’m able to play and I’m able to play to the best of my abilities. Whatever that may bring – starting linebacker or whatever it is – let it bring it, but just one play at a time.”

David just completed his 12th season with the Buccaneers, and he’s started all 181 regular-season games he’s played. But David turned 34 on Tuesday.

“Love to have him back,” Bowles said of David. “He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. I don’t even look at his age. He plays timeless. He plays timeless football. He plays it the right way. He prepares the right way. He’s the ultimate professional.”

White played the 2023 season for Tampa Bay after the team exercised its fifth-year option on the rookie contract he signed after coming aboard as the fifth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

“I love Devin to death,” Bowles said. “From a free-agent standpoint, I know it’s a business and things have to be out there, but we’ll work together and work some things out, and, hopefully, we can come out with something.”

Britt joined Tampa Bay the season after it won Super Bowl LV, and the Buccaneers have captured the NFC South and been to the postseason every year of his career.

“Anything short of a Super Bowl, it’s a bad feeling,” Britt said. “We didn’t achieve the Super Bowl, so everybody’s feeling pretty sad. But I think we got something to build on. We got a foundation. Can’t build a house without a foundation, so we got a foundation. Looking forward to next year, just ready to see guys back and see what the next team will look like.”

It didn’t look as though Tampa Bay would reach the postseason in 2023 after the Bucs lost to the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 26 to drop to 4-7. Britt made his first start in the next game, and Tampa Bay went on to finish at 9-8 in the regular season.

Britt said he thought “reality” was responsible for the Buccaneers’ turnaround.

“Nobody wanted to go out with a sour taste in their mouth,” Britt said. “It could have been easy just to give in, quit, lose two more games, be out of the playoffs. But, naw, we got a bunch of dogs in this locker room, and a bunch of dogs that actually knew what it takes to win. We knew we had to change some things and change our approach and change our mindset, and we were going to turn it around.”

Before Auburn and the NFL, Britt earned All-State recognition at Oxford High School in 2015 and 2016.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.