Buccaneers: Ke’Shawn Vaughn number change a sign of things to come
By Rob Leeds
Number 21 will fit Buccaneers RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn well in 2021.
Ke’Shawn Vaughn experienced a shaky start to his NFL career as the forgotten rookie most of the season, but 2021 could see a change. While everyone tends to focus on the starters like Ronald Jones, Leonard Fournette, and an unnamed rookie, Vaughn also stands to be a decent contributor for the Buccaneers next season.
In the name of a bounce-back season, Vaughn took advantage of the available jersey number 21 and switched away from number 30, according to Greg Auman on Twitter.
Whether this was done to leave 2020 in the past or it was just because Vaughn likes 21 more, a change is good here. The Buccaneers had plenty of players switch jersey numbers last season (like Carlton Davis, Jordan Whitehead, and Sean Murphy-Bunting, to name a few), and they performed great in 2020. Perhaps there is good luck in a jersey change.
Ke’Shawn Vaughn can change more than his identity with the Buccaneers
In addition to a changed jersey, Vaughn is also hoping that he can undergo an identity change as well. As a surprisingly good power back last season when sparingly used, Vaughn still has a chance to earn reps through the air. Could #21 Ke’Shawn Vaughn be the Bucs’ new third-down back? The odds are long, but they aren’t impossible.
Vaughn has every bit of talent to live up to his third-round draft status. This may have felt high the day of, but an entire season of Vaughn could have been impressive. There was enough flash to indicate that the good would outweigh the bad with the proper volume.
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While Vaughn is still the low man on the totem pole, he does have the opportunity to carve out some reps with a big offseason. Bruce Arians has made it clear that no one is safe in their starting jobs, and clearly, the front office liked Vaughn enough to take a chance on him last year in the draft. If Vaughn lives up to that potential, he could easily carve out a decent role next season wearing his new number.
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