Peyton Barber to be Tampa Bay Buccaneers leading rusher?
By Cory Kinnan
Peyton Barber led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in rushing last year, but all of a sudden Ronald Jones is the hot name; time to pump the breaks on that.
Second-year running back Ronald Jones has been all the rage this offseason after he had appeared in better shape and improved during mini-camp. Pump the breaks, because The Athletic’s Greg Auman states last year’s leading rusher Peyton Barber is “certainly likely” to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in rushing this season as well.
Barber was the leader in the running back room a year ago, and the Buccaneers are not just going to give the job to Jones just because he was a second round pick a year ago. This is not any different of an answer when we talked to Auman about a month ago and asked him about how the Bucs planned to split carries between Barber and Jones as well.
"“I still think it’s very much Peyton Barber’s position from a primary running back standpoint. If Ronald Jones starts doing things he wasn’t doing as a rookie and can make plays, I definitely think they are going to want to work him in” (Auman via The Pewter Plank)."
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Barber finished with 871 yards and five scores on 234 carries in his first year as the full time starter in Tampa Bay. While he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry last year, the Buccaneers believe a change in scheme up front will facilitate some larger running lanes this season.
Jones finished with less than 50 yards rushing and only one score last year, and while he needs to improve, and it couldn’t get much worse than his rookie campaign, it will take a lot to usurp Barber’s role in 2019. While it may be too early to tell, it is still Barber’s job to lose for the Buccaneers.
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Barber re-signed with the Buccaneers on a one-year deal worth around the veteran minimum, and if he plays well this year he will get a much bigger payday next offseason. For now, Barber is still in charge of leading the rushing attack, and it should not be a surprise if he finishes with the most rushing yards for the Bucs again in 2019.