Rachaad

White

White was the clear second option behind Bucky Irving on Saturday, with Irving rushing 26 times as Tampa Bay pounded the rock in rainy conditions. White ended up being the more efficient runner in the regular season for Tampa Bay, but that speaks more to Irving’s injuries and struggles when on the field than anything White did. White’s a free agent in 2026 and could be a sleeper to get a starting gig somewhere, but if the Saints beat the Falcons, he’ll be Irving’s backup in a playoff game next week.

White only saw four touches for 17 total yards on the day, but he most notably saw a sizeable chunk of backfield snaps against the Dolphins. He saw 32 snaps to Bucky Irving’s 36 snaps in a pass-favorable game script. Sean Tucker notably had just four snaps, rushing two times for eight yards and failing to catch his only target of the day. Irving is the lead back for the Bucs while White is the passing-down back and Tucker is the short-yardage, goal-line back. It continues to be a frustrating split for fantasy purposes and Irving is the best bet out of the backfield for Week 18 against the Panthers.

White continues to get a mixture of carries and passing-down usage behind Bucky Irving, running 11 routes on 25 snaps. He had a 39-yard rush to open the second quarter, the second-longest rush of his career and the Bucs’ second-longest run of the season. White also eclipsed 4,000 scrimmage yards for his career with 60 total yards in this game. The Bucs’ usage of their backs is frustrating for fantasy purposes. White has the No. 2 role and rotates in for pure passing situations, making him a risky FLEX play for Week 17 against the Dolphins.

Tucker got the scoring started by volturing a touchdown early in the contest. That makes back-to-back games with a trip to paydirt, but it’s also three straight games he hasn’t cleared 30 yards. He’s as touchdown-dependent as you’ll find in the league right now, in terms of offering potential fantasy value. It’s potentially worth noting that Tucker did receive more carries than Rachaad White, as White carried the rock just one time for 20 yards in the loss.

White “added” a two-yard reception. With Baker Mayfield struggling in rainy conditions, the Bucs dialed up 33 running back rushes. White was out-carried just 15-11 by Bucky Irving, but it was Irving who provided the only Bucs RB score, a 24-yarder through the air. White has been spelling Irving plenty since his Week 13 return, but it is predictably failing to produce RB3 returns as Irving gets more overall work and the majority of the high-value touches. Although White has a decent enough touches floor, you will be in trouble if forced to FLEX him during the fantasy playoffs.

With Bucky Irving active for the first time since Week 4, White actually “started” the game but ended up getting out-touched 19-5. Like Irving, White had a touchdown called back by penalty, getting a 15-yard receiving score wiped out in the second quarter. Beyond those tidbits, there was no inkling of the supposed committee for Irving’s return. Irving’s snap advantage was not prodigious, but the difference was basically any time he was on the field, he was getting the ball. With Irving back and avoiding setbacks, White is on the outside looking in on 12-team league relevance for Week 14 against the Saints.

Speaking with reporters on Friday, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said that once Irving “gets in, we’ll see how he is rolling, and then between him, Rachaad [White] and Sean [Tucker], we’ll kind of go with the hot hand.” Bowles’ phrasing suggests Irving will be given the first chance to establish the hot hand. The team had already made clear that Irving would be eased into action, so the hot hand approach makes sense. It is never what we want to hear for fantasy purposes, though. Irving is the most talented player of the bunch. If he can get going early, he has a chance to return RB2 value or better, but his floor is lower than it typically would be.

Bowles said that if Irving is fine after Friday’s practice, he will be slated to play on Sunday against the Cardinals. This was the belief dating back to last Friday when Bowles said the team was eyeing a Week 13 return for Irving after ruling him out against the Rams. Irving is sitting on a 71-237-0 rushing line through four games this season and was averaging 22.5 touches per game over that span. While he’s expected to step back into his starting role, it’s hard to predict what his touch totals could look like after the string of success Sean Tucker has had in his absence. Regardless of what his role may look like, Irving still figures to lead the Bucs’ backfield by a wide margin, putting him in the RB1/RB2 mix if he’s activated this week.

White played well behind Sean Tucker for the second consecutive game, out-touched 13 to eight as the Buccaneers played from behind throughout. It remains to be seen how the backfield usage will shake out moving forward with Bucky Irving expected back in Week 13, leaving fantasy managers rolling the dice in the Tampa backfield.

Per Schefter, Irving looked strong in practice and “might have been able to play” in Week 12 versus the Rams, but the Bucs decided to give him one more week of rest. Sean Tucker and Rachaad White will hold down the backfield for one more week. Tucker took over the backfield last week, seeing 19 carries to White’s 10. Tucker ran for 106 yards and two scores. He also found the end zone once through the air. Tucker will push for an RB2 rank this week while White is nothing more than a low-end RB3 in PPR formats.