Why Trading A Running Back Makes Little Sense For the Bucs
Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
A few weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t have nearly the running back depth they thought they did. While rookie Bucky Irving was delivering for the Bucs early on, Rachaad White wasn’t getting any momentum going whatsoever. But then White got back on track in Weeks 4 and 5, getting 121 rushing yards on 20 carries, looking more like the tailback who compiled over 1,500 all-purpose yards in 2023.
Then White got hurt, and Tampa went back to one dynamic running back. Or so we thought.
Sunday was the Sean Tucker Game. You can bet that there are even some Bucs fans that weren’t super aware of Tucker. He was an undrafted second-year player with just 17 carries coming into Week 6. 192 all-purpose yards and an Offensive Player of the Week award later, and the Bucs have a three-headed monster at their disposal. Todd Bowles plans to use all three of them going forward.
Unless all that talent in the backfield is a luxury Tampa can part with. Bleacher Report is pegging White as a trade target, which would create more room for Irving and Tucker to spread their wings.
Maybe the Bucs can free up some playing time and get an asset back for White, but let’s examine the counterpoint: Why?
Remember how well Tampa’s offense is doing? They’re tied for the second-most points per game (29.7) and are ninth in yards per game (367.2). Pro Football Focus has their offense graded as the fifth-best in the NFL, which is also where Tampa’s running back room ranks among the 32 teams. It’s (slightly) outshining their passing game, and it lets Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers run a balanced offense. They’ve had 100-plus rushing yards in four of their six games, going 3-1 in those contests.
Why rock the boat? It’s great that Tucker had his day in the sun, and the Buccaneers might even have something there. He combined for 2,556 rushing yards in his sophomore and junior years and ran an unofficial 40-yard dash time that was in the 4.3 range. We saw that speed on Sunday, no doubt.
But also, we’re talking about one week. We have no idea if this was a reflection of his talent, or if it was a fluke. Those happen! Another thing we don’t know: How is he going to hold up to being used regularly in the NFL? Injuries happen — you can ask White — and if they trade White or another back, they’ll be back to where they thought they were before Sunday, or after the first two weeks of the season: With Irving and not much else.
Tampa isn’t playing with house money. They’re 4-2, sure, but technically, the Atlanta Falcons are atop of the NFC South by virtue of the tiebreaker. Their next four opponents have a combined 16-7 record. As of now, Tampa is sitting in the sixth playoff spot, as one of seven NFC teams with four-plus wins. The Bucs are going to need all hands on deck to stay in the playoff picture.
White is going to be more valuable to the team than whatever mid-to-late-round draft pick they can get from trading him. Tampa has all of their draft picks in 2025, and even if they didn’t, they’re in win-now mode. It might be tempting to try to get some small asset in a winning season, to have their cake and eat it, too. But on the whole, a deal like that would expose Tampa to more risk than reward, which doesn’t make sense at this point in their trajectory.
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