Trade for Duke Johnson Jr. or sign Jay Ajayi
Last season, the Buccaneers had a completely terrible rushing attack, averaging less than four yards per carry between Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones. It was an especially abysmal year for Jones who, after being selected in the top 40 of the 2018 NFL Draft, ran for less than 50 yards as a rookie.
Barber re-signed a one-year deal to run it back with the Buccaneers, and the team chose not to draft another back in this year’s draft. This means they will predominantly rely on Barber and Jones again in 2019. Adding another running back to the group would not be a bad idea for the Buccaneers to consider on the heels of training camp.
Duke Johnson has been disgruntled with the Cleveland Browns this offseason after seeing his touches this season disintegrate and after they added embattled running back Kareem Hunt to their roster. He has requested a trade and has already fired an agent who could not make that happen and the Buccaneers have been named a team to watch in the Johnson sweepstakes.
On the free agent market still sits the young, but often injured Pro Bowl running back Jay Ajayi. Should the Buccaneers take a chance on the former 1,000 yard rusher who will be just 27 this year, Ajayi could pay out huge dividends as well.