One of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ projected starters at inside linebacker hasn’t played a snap in the preseason. The other has played 42.

The one who has played none – Lavonte David – is preparing for his 13th season with the Bucs, and he has 181 regular-season starts. The one who has played 42 – K.J. Britt – is preparing for his fourth season with Tampa Bay, and he has four regular-season starts.

“I wanted to get them,” Britt said about his preseason playing time. “If I can just get better each and every day, see reps and get that feel, I mean, it’s helping. I want to get all the reps I can get. I need those reps because, like I said, it’s just a feel thing. Getting into it, how we approached the week, too, it’s just going out there and just having fun and just playing.

“It’s still a game I love to play. I’ve been playing since I was a little kid, so it’s just going out there and just having fun and just reminiscing and just playing football.”

David and Devin White served as the Buccaneers’ linebacker duo for previous five seasons. But White left for the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency in March, opening a vacancy for Britt.

Britt joined Tampa Bay 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.

But David and White had injury issues down the stretch in 2023, and 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 Jan. 21.

Now it’s Britt’s turn to pair with David regularly.

“We’ve got to have a relationship because we’ve got to trust one another,” Britt said, “because we might see something. I might see something that he doesn’t see, and I might tell him, ‘Hey, alert this.’ Us playing together, getting on one page, because when it’s linebackers, it’s like two quarterbacks. You’ve got to have a relationship, so us taking a lot of reps this training camp has been real beneficial. I’ve got a feel for how he play. He gets a feel for how I play, how we communicate, a lot of pre-snap talking, a lot of post-snap talking, so it’s all those little communication keys that’ll help us play faster.

“We’re trying to beat a curve. It’s always a curve when two guys playing together, so we’re trying to beat a curve. We played together last year, so it ain’t no different. But we’ve got a relationship first. So me and him, we’ve got a real personal relationship, so I’m glad that me and him are friends first.”

Tampa Bay will wrap up its preseason schedule against the Miami Dolphins on Friday, and Britt is fine with playing again despite his starter status.

“Whatever it is, practice, preseason, regular-season games, playoff games, it’s the same approach for me,” Britt said. “I take everything serious because you just never know when you might see it again and how me seeing this play, this game, how it might help me Week 10 down the line because it’s a copycat league. Offenses, they do the same thing. They’re going to scheme our defense the same way, so just seeing it, getting the feel for it and then just going out there and just playing. Like I said, you can’t take this game for granted, man, because this game is so precious, and it’s been good to me, so any time I can go out there and just strap up, I’m ready.”

The Bucs and Dolphins square off at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Tampa Bay’s first two preseason games were played on the road.

“I’m so excited, man,” Britt said. “Those two away games, it made training camp feel a little bit longer. But I can’t wait to get back in Ray J. I can’t wait to go out there and just play football and then just go home after. That’s a big deal, and I just can’t wait.”

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.