The Bucs plan to release RB Leonard Fournette on March 15, the first day of the new league year, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. The move will save the rebuilding Bucs $3.47 million against the 2023 salary cap. Fournette remained reliable in the passing game last year, hauling in 73 of 83 targets for 523 yards (7.2 YPC). But he mustered just 3.5 yards per carry and ranked bottom 4 among 51 qualifiers in both Pro Football Focus' Elusive Rating and NFL Next Gen Stats' Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt. The 28-year-old figures to land a committee job on the open market and isn't an exciting pick in early best-ball drafts. The Bucs, meanwhile, are left with RB Rachaad White atop the depth chart for now. He caught 50 balls as a rookie last year but averaged just 5.8 yards per catch. White was only a little better than Fournette on the ground, averaging 3.7 yards per carry while ranking 41st in Elusive Rating and 45th in Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt. We'll see what else the Bucs add to the backfield this offseason.

The Bucs are hiring Dave Canales as their new OC. The 41-year-old has spent the past 13 seasons working under Pete Carroll, first at USC and then with Seattle. Canales most recently served as Seahawks QBs coach, helping QB Geno Smith to a career year. But Canales' only experience as an offensive coordinator came at Carson High School in California in 2004 and 2005. He's a total wild card as we start to project what this Bucs offense will look like in 2023. We're also, of course, still waiting to see what Tampa does at QB. Kyle Trask is the only QB currently on the roster.

Buccaneers RB Rachaad White led the team in rushing with 41 yards on 7 attempts in Monday’s Wild Card loss vs. the Cowboys. Teammate RB Leonard Fournette struggled mightily, tallying a mere 11 yards on 5 carries. White added some value as a receiver with 4 catches on 6 targets and 36 yards, whereas Fournette only managed 1 catch for 8 yards. The Cowboys’ defense took the life out of the Bucs’ rushing attack. The combined 52 rushing yards are the lowest total the Buccaneers’ offense has produced since Week 10 vs. the Seahawks in Munich. Looking ahead to 2023, the Buccaneers have an out in Fournette’s contract that would only incur a $1.5 million cap hit if they choose to move on this offseason. Should upcoming free agent QB Tom Brady move onto another team or retire, don’t be surprised to see Fournette hit the free agent market too. There's a window for the rookie White to seize a larger role in the future.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles plans to play his starters, including QB Tom Brady, in Sunday's regular-season finale vs. the Falcons, despite the Bucs being locked into the NFC's #4 seed. "We can get better at a lot of things, so right now, we plan on playing [Brady]," Bowles said Monday. "We'll see how the week goes going forward, but we can get better at a lot of things that we need to work on, and we don't need our foot off the gas." Bowles added that he'll consider pulling starters in the 2nd half. We'd be surprised if Brady played more than a half and don't expect RB Leonard Fournette or WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin to play the entire game, either.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette said in a since-deleted tweet that he's been playing through a Lisfranc injury. Fournette was on the injury report with a foot in Week 14 but hasn't been listed the past 2 weeks. And he just went for 162 total yards on 29 touches in Sunday night's win over the Cardinals. We'll keep an eye on Fournette this week, but it doesn't seem like this foot issue will impact his role in Week 17.

Buccaneers RB Leonard Fournette dominated the backfield work in Sunday night's OT win over the Cardinals. He carried 20 times for 72 yards, vs. just 7-36 rushing for RB Rachaad White. Fournette also caught a team-high 9 passes for a team-high 90 yards, tying WR Chris Godwin for the target lead at 10. White caught all 4 of his targets for 17 yards, including the team's lone offensive TD. Fournette played 20 more snaps than White and will be the better bet among Bucs RBs for a Week 17 home date with the Panthers.

Buccaneers RB Leonard Fournette carried the ball 11 times for 44 yards on top of hauling in 4 receptions for 30 yards in Sunday's loss to the Bengals. Rookie Rachaad White split the workload with Fournette in Week 15, logging 11 carries for 38 yards and a single catch for 5 yards. Neither Fournette nor White had particularly effective fantasy games as the Buccanners offense fell apart in the second half. However, managers should feel good about a Week 16 showdown against a Cardinals defense that ranks 6th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs this season. Both Bucs backs should be in RB2/flex consideration next week, with the edge going to Fournette.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette is not listed on the Week 15 injury report. He was added with a foot issue last Thursday and then did not practice on Friday before mustering just 46 total yards on 10 touches in the loss to the 49ers. Fournette still has RB Rachaad White to contend with, but health shouldn't be a factor vs. the Bengals this weekend.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (foot) is active for today’s game vs. the 49ers. He was added to the injury report and limited on Thursday and then did not practice on Friday. HC Todd Bowles never expressed much concern about Fournette’s availability for this one, but there’s still elevated risk here.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Buccaneers RB Leonard Fournette (foot) is expected to play today against the 49ers. Expect another backfield split between Fournette and Rachaad White.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (foot) is questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the 49ers. He was added to the injury report and limited on Thursday and then did not practice on Friday. HC Todd Bowles “did not express significant concern” about Fournette on Friday, though, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine. We’ll look for further updates on his status but won’t get Tampa’s inactives until around 3 pm ET on Sunday. Fournette’s absence would turn Rachaad White into a borderline RB1, even in a tough matchup.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette was added to the injury report and limited in Thursday's practice with a foot issue. He, of course, just returned last week from a hip injury. We'll see what Fournette does in Friday's practice and how he's listed on the final injury report for this weekend's game vs. the 49ers.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette rushed 10 times for 49 yards in a Week 13 matchup vs. New Orleans. He added 6 catches (on 7 targets) for 32 yards. Rachaad White actually out-targeted him by 1, although the veteran held the edge in route rate (59% vs. 37%). White also scored the game-winning TD on a do-or-die 3rd-down catch. There’s likely room for both guys to be weekly PPR starters going forward, especially with Tom Brady reluctant to take deep shots. Next up is a tough 49ers pass rush that might lead to another busy day for Tampa RBs in the passing game.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (hip) is active for tonight's game vs. the Saints. He was listed as questionable but put in a full week of practice, so we're not expecting the hip to be an issue. We'll see how Tampa splits work between Fournette and rookie Rachaad White.

The Buccaneers expect RB Leonard Fournette (hip) to play through his questionable tag for tonight's game against the Saints. That will likely return him to a backfield split with rookie RB Rachaad White, who led the way in the Week 12 game Fournette missed. Exactly what that split will look like is impossible to know. White saw elevated playing time in Week 10 -- before Tampa Bay's bye -- but Fournette left early with the injury. Both are in play for Week 13 fantasy football lineups and carry upside.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (hip) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game vs. the Saints. He put in a full week of practice, so it'd be surprising if he didn't play. But the late kickoff adds a little risk to using him in fantasy lineups. We'll see if we get an update on Fournette on Sunday morning.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (hip) put in another full practice on Friday. He remains on track to return for Monday night's game vs. the Saints.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (hip) was a full participant in Thursday's practice. That should put him in line to return for Monday night's game vs. the Saints. The question now becomes how snaps and touches will be divvied between Fournette and rookie Rachaad White. In Fournette's last game, White got the start, but Fournette tallied 14 carries and 1 target to White’s 11 carries and 0 targets before exiting with that hip injury.

The Buccaneers have downgraded RB Leonard Fournette (hip) to out for Sunday's game against the Browns. He had already been deemed doubtful, so we moved Rachaad White up the Week 12 fantasy football rankings Friday in anticipation of Fournette not playing. Tampa Bay has also activated RB Giovani Bernard. We'll see what kind of role he can carve out, but we're not worried about Bernard's impact on White's numbers.