The Tampa Bay Buccaneers confirmed on Monday that their promising rookie linebacker David Walker suffered a season-ending ACL tear at training camp.
The announcement from head coach Todd Bowles regarding the team’s fourth-round draft pick out of Central Arkansas didn’t come for several days because the non-contact injury at the July 25 practice session didn’t look serious at first.
Walker started his collegiate career at Division II Southern Arkansas, where he played from 2020 to 2021 before moving up to the FCS with Central Arkansas in 2022. In three seasons with the Bears, Walker tallied 191 tackles and 31 sacks.
Walker earned the Buck Buchanan Award for the top defensive player in the FCS for 2024, and he earned All-American honors for a third time. He tallied 68 tackles and 10.5 sacks for his senior season that year.
“When you watch those small school guys, a thing everyone always says in our profession is: if he’s not the best player on the field, it probably gives you some pause. Time and time again, David Walker showed up,” he said.
“Then he goes to Mobile, [Alabama], and does the same thing there. There was a lot of positivity to take from his time down at the Senior Bowl, too,” McCartney added.
“That was another guy we spent time with at the combine, and we feel really good about not only the athlete, but the instincts, the power, the speed, his ability to help us on special teams, too, and rush from the off the edge. I think he’s another guy that we have some versatility with, too.”
Walker impressed at the Buccaneers’ rookie minicamp in May, followed by organized team activities. The 6-foot-1, 263-pound prospect looked like a serious contributor as a rookie on the Buccaneers’ defense that needed depth on the outside.
“I told him he has to look at this like a redshirt year,” Bowles said. “It’s unfortunate. He was making a big impact early. We were counting on him doing a lot of things, but other guys are going to have to step up.”
Linebackers Haason Reddick and Ya Ya Diaby give the Buccaneers solid starters, but reserves such as Anthony Nelson, Chris Braswell, Markee Watts, and Jose Ramirez will need to step up.
Nelson has been a consistent performer since 2019 when called upon, and Braswell is a 2024 third-round pick who played 17 games last season amid 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and 18 tackles.
Ramirez has played only four regular-season games since the team took him with a sixth-round pick in 2023. Watts joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and he has played in 12 career games, with one sack and four tackles.
Tampa Bay will look for more success on the edge this season, and that prompted the selection of Walker and the signing of Reddick from the New York Jets in the offseason. Buccaneers interior defensive linemen Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea had the lion’s share of sacks with 14.5 combined sacks last year.
Tampa Bay seeks a fifth-straight NFC South title and sixth-straight playoff appearance this season. The Buccaneers are also looking to win 10-plus games for a second-straight season and complete a third-straight winning season under Bowles.
Meanwhile, Walker will work to get back on the field for 2026 as he continues to seek strength where he so often does.
“Seeing how the Lord has provided and brought me this far, it’s exciting.”
