Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie pass rusher David Walker suffered a torn ACL and will miss the entire 2025-26 season, head coach Todd Bowles announced Monday.
Bowles praised Walker’s early impact, saying, “He was making a big impact early. Obviously, we were counting on him to do a lot of things. But we’ve got other guys that have to step up. I told him he has to look at this as a redshirt year.”
Walker, a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, was expected to see playing time behind starters Haason Reddick and Yaya Diaby. Other outside linebackers on the Buccaneers roster include Anthony Nelson and Chris Braswell. Walker earned the Buck Buchanan Award last season as the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), finishing 2024 with 10.5 sacks and leading the FCS with 23 tackles for loss while playing at Central Florida. The Buccaneers are set to host the Tennessee Titans in their preseason opener on August 9 in Tampa, Florida.