Former Alabama running back Jase McClellan has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the NFL team announced on Tuesday.
McClellan had been a free agent since the Atlanta Falcons waived him on June 17 after his rookie season with the team.
Tampa Bay signed after running back Rachaad White sustained a groin injury in a 29-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.
With No. 1 running back Bucky Irving sitting out the Buccaneers’ NFL preseason opener, White started in the backfield. He left with 28 yards on six carries. Owen Wright ran for 87 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries and Sean Tucker ran for 50 yards on 13 carries to complete the game for Tampa Bay.
After McClellan ran for 890 yards and eight touchdowns on 180 carries in 2023 for Alabama, the Falcons chose the running back in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
In the preseason, McClellan led Atlanta with 97 rushing yards, and his 24 carries included one touchdown. In the regular season, though, Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier dominated the duty in the backfield for the Falcons.
McClellan played in two regular-season games. He ran for 17 yards on five carries in a 34-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 20 and 15 yards on eight carries in a 38-6 loss to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 17.
The Falcons placed McClellan on injured reserve on Dec. 11 because of a knee injury that kept the rookie out of practice after Nov. 28. He had 19 offensive snaps and eight special-team plays for Atlanta in 2024.
Tampa Bay plays the second of its three preseason games at 6 p.m. CDT Saturday, when the Bucs play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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