Bucs RB Rachaad White addresses pending 2026 free agency

White made eight starts as a rookie, setting him up to serve as Tampa Bay’s lead back the following year. 2023 produced a number of new career highs, including 1,539 scrimmage yards and a strong 64-549-3 receiving statline. After the former third-rounder averaged only 3.6 yards per carry, though, questions were raised about his ability to efficiently handle lead back duties.

Last season, White started 15 of his 16 appearances but his playing time fell over the course of the campaign. The emergence of rookie Bucky Irving cut heavily into White’s workload, as the latter totaled just nine carries across the final three games of the regular season. Irving has three years remaining on his rookie deal, but White’s will expire after the coming campaign. In the absence of extension talks, the possibility of a free agent departure looms, something he is acutely aware of.

“I’m ready to see what the year holds,” White said during an interview with RG.org’s DJ Siddiqi. “I’m coming into the last year of my deal, I’m ready to prove what I got and what I got going on. At the end of the day, you can only control what you can control. You have to go out there and prove it every day… I’m just going out with my mindset, just attack every day, show them who I am, and let the chips fall where they may.”

White averaged 4.3 yards per carry last year, by far the best mark of his career in that department. His drop in usage came about as Irving showcased his potential, however, and a further uptick in playing time for the Oregon product would leave White in place to operate as a backup. Such a scenario would hinder the 26-year-old’s value on a new Bucs pact or one sending him to a new team, so it will be interesting to see how he fares this year.

Under offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Tampa Bay experienced a strong resurgence on the ground in 2024 after years of struggling in that regard. Coen departed to take over head coaching duties with the Jaguars, leaving Josh Grizzard as the Buccaneers’ new OC. How his first season in that role plays out will be key in determining White’s future beyond 2025.