The Buccaneers placed starting fullback B.J. Askew on the reserve/non-football injury (NFI) list Tuesday after he sustained injuries to his neck and back in a car accident.
That means former starting running back Earnest Graham will slide over to fullback, immediately becoming one of the best paid fullbacks in the league. (Graham will earn $2.5 million this year.)
Elsewhere in the Bucs backfield, Derrick Ward has become a forgotten man due to Cadillac Williams’ play and the poor Tampa offense. Bucs coach Raheem Morris knows that Ward probably wasn’t thrilled to see only two touches against Carolina last week.
Tampa went into the season planning to use a 2-2-1 rotation with Ward, Cadillac Williams, and Graham, but Williams has developed into the clear lead back.
And since Tampa is usually trailing, there haven’t been many carries to go around. Ward was handed $6 million guaranteed over the offseason to sign with Tampa, but he has only 39 touches on the season.
The Bucs have have run fairly well when they have tried (12th in yards per carry), but the team is only 30th in attempts because its weak passing game and defense keeps them playing from behind.
Tampa doesn’t figure to be playing with a lead this week either against the Patriots at Wimbley Stadium in London.
Of course, we would have said the same thing about the Raiders-Eagles game last week.
