Tampa Bay has agreed to a two-year deal with RB Kenneth Gainwell that will pay $14 million, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Gainwell spent 2025 with the Steelers after arriving on a mere one-year, $1.79 million pact. That followed four seasons with the Eagles, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2021.
Aaron Rodgers on Gainwell, in December: "Kenny's been unbelievable in the passing game. Just unbelievable. And he's so damn smart. I was telling him, I wish I had played with him for 10 years. Just because the kind of player that he is. You just love playing with that guy."
Gainwell's lone Pittsburgh season found him roughly halving Jaylen Warren's carries per game -- 6.7 vs. 13.2 -- while nearly doubling his backfield mate in targets per outing (5.0 to 2.8).
Although Gainwell can contribute as a runner and receiver, he clearly arrives with more proven pass-game ability.
In QB Baker Mayfield's three Tampa seasons, the team has field tied for 11th, second, and tied for 10th in RB receptions. So there should be opportunity for the new guy.
Rachaad White finished just 44th among RBs in PPR points per game in 2025 -- as the Bucs' No. 2 RB -- but RB21 the year before.
That season found him working ahead of Bucky Irving before ceding the lead late in the year.
Gainwell's value should land somewhere in between those two points. We'll watch for word from the coaches on how they expect the work share with Irving to proceed.
This is bad news for Irving.
We certainly expected Tampa Bay to add at least one meaningful piece to the backfield, after giving no indication it planned to keep White or Sean Tucker. But choosing the guy who ranked fourth among all RBs in receptions last season sends a pretty clear signal.
I'm sure the Bucs still like Irving, and I'd still bet on him leading the 2026 backfield in touches. But expect a decline in receiving work after he averaged 2.8 and 3.0 receptions per contest the past two years -- at positive efficiency (8.7 yards per catch).
Irving takes at least a slight hit in dynasty value as well.
He's still young (24 in mid-August), but Gainwell's contract aligns with the time remaining on Irving's rookie deal.
That limitation on at least his receiving upside will cap the scoring potential for a small-ish RB who was also losing goal-line work late last season.
Look into trying to sell Irving this offseason.
Irving has been going 13th among RBs in best-ball ADP so far. If that doesn't fall a decent amount, then expect him to wind up significantly overrated.
Gainwell, meanwhile, has been going RB37 on Underdog Fantasy (half-PPR). That's a fair range for him. We'll see if it climbs.
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