The pass-catching running back role in Tampa Bay was vacated with Rachaad White entering unrestricted free agency, and the Bucs wasted little time filling that gap with Kenneth Gainwell on Monday. Tampa Bay gave Gainwell a two-year, $14 million deal after a career season in which Gainwell reeled in 73 balls for 486 yards. Bucky Irving no longer projects as a workhorse, and Aaron Rodgers is frantically texting his agent about Baker Mayfield‘s job security. Let’s break this down fantasy-wise.
KENNETH GAINWELL
- Gainwell enjoyed ludicrous target volume down the stretch last season, closing with nine straight games with a double-digit target share. He was Pittsburgh’s most-targeted player from Week 11 onward (DK Metcalf missed two games). He also averaged 7.8 carries per game during this stretch, and he went for 19/99/2 in Week 4 against the Vikings’ defense with Jaylen Warren injured. It was a breakout season for Gainwell.
- Gainwell has topped out at 114 carries in five NFL seasons, and no coaching staff has been willing to give him a major early-down role. His ceiling is capped in that regard, though the Bucs’ depth chart is vacant after Irving and Gainwell right now. We’ll see who else ends up in the mix here, but Gainwell’s upside if Irving goes down likely only extends to 1A committee back rather than stepping into a legit three-down role.
- Rachaad White is one of the premier third-down backs in football, and Gainwell is a seamless replacement. Tampa Bay only threw to running backs 16.9% of the time in 2025, a middle-of-the-pack mark under Josh Grizzard, but they were fourth in the NFL at 21.9% under Liam Coen in 2024. Zac Robinson‘s Atlanta offenses have used RBs in the passing game a lot, but he also had Bijan Robinson at his disposal, so it’s hard to pinpoint the real driving force behind that distinction. Regardless, expect more RB targets in 2025 with both Irving and Gainwell as highly capable receivers.
BUCKY IRVING
- Considering new Bucs OC and former Falcons OC Zac Robinson recently said that he views Irving in a similar light to Bijan Robinson, this is a little bit of a punch to the gut. With White gone and Tampa Bay opting not to tender Sean Tucker, there was some hope of Irving emerging as a workhorse here, but this signing eliminates that possibility. Gainwell likely takes passing downs here, much like White did.
- It will be interesting to see who takes goal-line duties for the Buccaneers. Zac Robinson deployed Tyler Allgeier at the goal line over Bijan last year, and Irving had zero carries inside the 5-yard line in 2025. Tucker had nine and White had eight for reference (Irving only played 10 games, but zero goal-line carries is shocking). Jaylen Warren out-carried Gainwell 13-8 inside the 5 last year, and Gainwell is only 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, so it’s not like he has ideal size for a short-yardage role, either. The decision to let Tucker walk is a bit curious in that regard, and you almost wonder if another addition is coming to add more size to the RB room.
- The addition of Gainwell bodes decently for Irving’s chances of getting some goal-line work but poorly for his pass-catching role. Irving also averaged just 3.4 yards per carry in 2025 after posting a hyper-efficient 5.4 YPC mark as a rookie.
