If you’re looking for where the lion’s share of criticism for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has landed this season, just look into the running backs room. That’s where you’ll find a position group that’s down bad as perhaps any in the NFL.
The player who finds himself most in the crosshairs is 3rd year running back Rachaad White, who started all 17 games for Tampa Bay in 2023 and put up over 1,500 yards of total offense but finds himself averaging just 2.1 yards per carry through 3 games in 2024.
While calls might be coming for Tampa Bay to turn the running game over to rookie Bucky Irving, head coach Todd Bowles was quick to come to White’s defense headed into a Week 4 showdown against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 29 and coming off the Buccaneer’s first loss of the season in Week. 3 against the Denver Broncos.
“As far as the running game is going, everybody has got to do their job from coaches to players, receivers, tight ends, offensive line, running backs,” Bowles told NFL.com on Sept. 25. “At the same time, we’re going to need Bucky and Rachaad all year. Bucky has some scheme runs that worked and Rachaad had some that didn’t. That doesn’t mean he is playing better — that means we couldn’t get the (holes) open when we had Rachaad back there. We’re going to use them both all year.”
From the outside looking in, the logical thing for the Buccaneers to do right now would appear to be naming Irving the starter and letting White fill in. Irving’s workload has increased each game and he appears capable of handling it.
“We’re watching (the Buccaneers) gradually give up on Rachaad White, and you should do the same if you’ve got him on your fantasy team,” Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon wrote ahead of Week 4.
The Buccaneers won a third consecutive NFC South Division title in 2023 despite finishing dead last in the NFL in rushing.
White said he was focused on improving his yards per carry in the offseason — crucial metric for an elite running back. White averaged 3.65 yards per carry over his first 2 seasons and is averaging 2.1 yards per carry through his first 3 games in 2024.
Irving leads the team with 154 rushing yards and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry on 25 carries. White has just 66 yards on 31 carries.
Tampa Bay only has 1 rushing touchdown through its first 3 games, and that came from quarterback Baker Mayfield in a Week 2 win over the Detroit Lions.
Another thing to consider if Irving shows he can handle being the featured running back would be getting good value back for White in a trade and bringing in a veteran free agent or turning to a by-committee approach at backup running back.
White might still have good value to a team in even more desperate need of a running back than Tampa Bay is and still considers itself to be a playoff contender — a group that probably includes (for now) the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys — all teams that might be willing to make a move before the Nov. 5 trade deadline.
