Linebacker Devin White spoke to reporters after Day 2 of training camp and discussed the leadership role he’s been taking on with the Eagles.
As Devin White prepared to return to Philadelphia for his first training camp with the Eagles, he sent out a text message to new teammates Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown.
White labeled the group chat “Accountability.”
“I just sent them an empty glass, a picture of an empty glass,” White said after Thursday’s practice. “And before they could text back, I just said, ‘Hey, let’s pour into it every day.’ One day at a time, just pour into it. That’s kind of how we started and then everybody chimed in and gave some food of knowledge and we just went from there.”
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White, 26, is beginning a new chapter in the NFL after spending the first five years of his career with the Buccaneers. After the Bucs drafted him at No. 5 overall back in 2019, White experienced plenty of highs in Tampa with a Pro Bowl appearance and a Super Bowl victory but he had plenty of lows too, including falling out of favor and getting benched last season.
For White, his one-year deal with the Eagles offers a chance at a fresh start in a new city.
And he’s getting that opportunity while playing with Hurts and Brown, who have been close friends of his dating back to when they were all coming out of high school as top recruits in the 2016 class. White said the three of them always talked about playing together but then ended up at different SEC schools — White went to LSU, Hurts to Alabama and Brown to Ole Miss.
Years later, they’re finally getting the chance to be teammates.
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“It wasn’t singling them out,” White said of the text chain. “Those have been my guys already. Not saying that I don’t have new guys but those have been some of the ones that I’m personally close to in the offseason. Both of those guys called me even when I wasn’t on the Eagles and now that I am and checking up on the fam and everything. It’s just a little more personal there with them.”
It just so happens that Hurts and Brown are incumbent leaders and captains in Philly. And even if White doesn’t wear a "C" on his chest in 2024, the role of a MIKE linebacker certainly lends itself to a leadership role. White hasn’t won a starting job yet — the Eagles are rotating quite a bit in training camp — but given his contract and his experience level, it seems likely White will be a starter this season.
White mentioned the group chat on Thursday when he was asked about his perspective being on the other side of the Eagles’ playoff loss to the Buccaneers in the wild card round in January. That loss capped an absolute free fall from the Birds in 2023 that led to major changes this offseason.
White said he doesn’t really know what happened to the Eagles last year — he doesn’t care either — but he knows the version he saw in the playoffs wasn’t anything like the team that beat the Bucs early in the season.
And now White wants to make sure the Eagles avoid a similar fate in 2024.
“Just how can we pull one another up? And what do you need from me?” White said about the text chain. “And obviously vice versa with them. Just so this can be a better team and those things don’t happen.
“At the end of the day, it’s a long season but the one thing we’ve been talking about is one day at a time. How can we be better? And make sure we’re pushing everybody and bringing somebody along. Not just getting on to him but bringing somebody with you. If you’re a great player; show them how to be a great player. And we have more great players on the team.”