Buccaneers’ David Walker Suffers ACL Tear

David Walker will not be available to the Buccaneers during the 2025 season. The rookie edge rusher suffered an ACL tear and will miss the campaign, as first reported by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Walker went down in practice Friday, and subsequent testing has revealed the unfortunate news. The fourth-rounder’s attention will now turn to recovery as the Buccaneers move forward with their remaining options along the edge. Walker entered the league after winning the Buck Buchanan award as the top defensive player at the FCS level.

During his time at Central Arkansas, Walker earned All-American acclaim three times. His production helped his draft stock, and as a mid-round selection the 25-year-old was in position to occupy a rotational role during his first year with the Bucs. That will no longer be the case given the injury.

Tampa Bay has YaYa Diaby set to reprise his role as a full-time starter from last season. Free agent addition Haason Reddick is on track to work with the first-team defense in 2025. The Buccaneers’ remaining depth chart along the edge includes Anthony Nelson and Chris Braswell as backups. As Fox Sports’ Greg Auman notes, the injury to Walker will help the chances of Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez to survive roster cuts at the end of training camp.

With over $26MM in cap space, the Buccaneers could certainly afford a low-cost veteran to help compensate for losing Walker. Za’Darius Smith, Jadeveon Clowney and Matt Judon are among the edge rushers still on the market at this point, but none have been linked to Tampa Bay this offseason. Unless anything changes on that front, the team will move forward without a notable outside addition.