Even with the NFL’s worst rushing attack in 2023, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still had faith things would work themselves out in 2024.
What transpired over the first 3 games of the 2024 regular season has been more of the same. The Buccaneers find themselves 27th in the NFL in rushing headed into a Week 4 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 29.
Bold moves are needed to bring the rushing attack back to life and win a fourth consecutive NFC South Division title — a conference with several elite running backs — and the boldest move would be to trade running back Rachaad White and make rookie Bucky Irving the featured 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 — however delusional that might be.
That group 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.
White Falling Flat in Area He Vowed to Improve
White has a glaring inefficiency in his game he said he was focused on improving in the offseason — yards per carry. 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.
Rookie running back Bucky 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.
“Right now, I’m not where I want to be in my career yards per carry-wise and things like that — just being an efficient running back,” White said when the Buccaneers opened offseason workouts in April. “I think, for me, that’s (what) the biggest next step is, ‘OK, he’s efficient.’ The efficient running backs over the (course) of time — like I said, I study the game a lot — they average at least 4.0-4.1 (yards per carry) and above.”
White’s Trade Value vs. Irving’s Upside
Irving was a fourth-round pick (No. 125 overall) in the 2024 NFL draft who seems more than equipped to become the Buccaneers’ featured running back now instead of later. White had consecutive seasons of over 1,000 rushing yards in 2022 and 2023 at Oregon and 56 receptions for 413 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in 2023.
According to the Over the Cap trade calculator, any trade in which the Buccaneers receive a 2025 draft pick in return for White would be in Tampa Bay’s favor.
Tampa Bay selected White in third round (No. 91 overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. He’s in the third year of the 4-year, $5.12 million contract he signed as a rookie.
“We thought (Irving) might go a little bit earlier,” Tampa Bay Director of Player Personnel Mike Biehl said in April. “He’s a guy we brought in on a ‘Top 30’ visit and spent some time with him. We thought maybe he would be a second-day pick, but he falls to the third day. I think even talking to him, when Jason called him, he had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, thinking he should have gone earlier. We kind of like that. He’s just another right kind of character guy that we’ve been targeting. He fits that mold.”
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