Rachaad White
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White.
There’s nothing that seemed very fun or relaxing about the offseason for Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White.
He lost his starting position to rookie Bucky Irving. He was the subject of trade rumors from the moment his team lost in the NFC Wild Card Round to the Washington Commanders. Those rumors reached a fever pitch when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Buccaneers management looked at him as “expendable” ahead of the NFL draft in April.
Through it all, White held fast. Put in work. Kept his head down. Kept supporting Irving, who he’d been a mentor to since he was drafted in the fourth round in 2024.
In Week 2, it was White who delivered a heroic, gutsy performance for the Buccaneers in a thrilling, 20-19 road win over the Houston Texans to improve to 2-0 for the fifth consecutive season. In the end, it was White who scored the game winning touchdown on a 2-yard run with 6 seconds left in the second quarter.
White’s touchdown capped an 80-yard game winning drive for the Buccaneers. He finished with 10 carries for 65 yards as he and Irving combined for 136 rushing yards.
White also had a gutsy fumble recovery that may have saved the game for the Buccaneers when Mayfield coughed up the ball in the second half, sacrificing his body to get to the ball.
That the Buccaneers did so without their 2 best offensive linemen — offensive tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke were out with injuries — speaks even more to the fact Tampa Bay might have the best 1-2 running back combo in the NFL.
Irving’s Unexpected Rise Came At Cost To White
When the Buccaneers drafted Iriving, it was ostensibly done to serve as either White’s primary backup or create a 1-2 punch similar to what the Detroit Lions have with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.
White went all in on the situation and Irving, taking the young running back under his wing and becoming highly invested in his success — like everyone else he just didn’t know how good his young protege was.
As a rookie, Irving wasn’t just the Buccaneers’ best running back, he was one of the best running backs in the NFL with 1,122 rushing yards on the way to 1,514 yards of total offense and 8 total touchdowns.
White Became ‘Expendable’ After Season
With just one year remaining on the 4-year, $5.12 million contract he signed after the Buccaneers drafted him in the third round (No. 91 overall) in the 2022 NFL draft, the time is now to get a great return on White.
Don’t forget White was the primary starter for the Buccaneers the last 2 seasons with over 1,500 yards of total offense in 2023 and over 1,000 yards of total offense in 2024 despite splitting carries with White.
White’s value to the Buccaneers might come into full focus during the NFL draft in April, when ESPN’s Adam Schefter listed him among players headed into the final season of their rookie contracts who could be “expendable” via trade.
Now, White might have just made himself a ton of money with a single performance — for all intents and purposes he looked like another team’s RB1 moving forward and could cash in big in free agency after the year.