White leads weak backfield effort in Wild Card loss

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.

Buccaneers RB Rachaad White caught all 9 of his targets for 45 yards in Sunday's OT loss at Cleveland. He added 64 rushing yards on 14 carries, controlling the backfield work with Leonard Fournette (hip) out. Ke'Shawn Vaughn claimed the only other 4 RB carries, and no other Bucs RB drew a target. The team managed just 2 offensive TDs, on passes to Chris Godwin and Ko Kieft. We'll see about Fournette's status for Week 13.

Buccaneers RB Rachaad White got his 1st career start and wound up with season-high playing time in the last game. And the 2nd part wasn't just about Leonard Fournette leaving early with a hip issue. “I think it was excellent to see him go out there and play an extended amount of snaps,” OC Byron Leftwich said Thursday, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I don’t know if he was ready for that many earlier. We saw the gifts that he had early but … we’re here with him every day, so we knew we had to get him to the point he could handle that type of load. He’s there now." White's playing time and touch count (22 carries vs. Seattle) probably won't be quite so high with Fournette back -- he has put in limited practices this week -- but expect enough of a role to put White in flex contention for many fantasy football teams.

Buccaneers rookie RB Rachaad White racked up a 22-105 rushing line in Sunday morning's win over the Seahawks in Germany. RB Leonard Fournette's 2nd-half departure with a hip injury certainly helped, but White started the game and had 9 rushes to Fournette's 12 at halftime. He went without a target for the 1st time since Week 3, when the rookie played just 6 snaps. We'll see about the severity of Fournette's injury and the backfield plan following the team's Week 11 bye.

Buccaneers rookie RB Rachaad White saw season highs in total snaps (24) and snap share (38%) in Sunday night's loss to the Chiefs. That marked a big jump over his 15 combined snaps in the previous 2 games. White's Week 1 checked in closer only because he played most of the 4th quarter after Tampa got out to a big lead in Dallas and pulled Leonard Fournette. Game flow might have played a part. White got his 1st touch early in the 2nd quarter, but K.C. already had a 21-3 lead by then. He matched Fournette's 3 carries for the game, which saw the Bucs run on just 17.2% of offensive plays. White ran for a 1-yard TD but watched Fournette claim the 4th-quarter TD reception. We'll see whether White's increased playing time continues.

Rachaad White is listed as the Bucs' #2 RB on the Week 1 depth chart. It's not a surprise after White was the 2nd RB to hit the field in the preseason finale -- but the confirmation is nice. We're still not expecting White to see enough action behind a healthy Fournette to be a reliable fantasy play. But a Fournette injury would turn White into a high-upside starter.