It is almost laughable at this point that the Buccaneers are trying to trade Ke’Shawn Vaughn after doing nothing to build his trade value.
The Buccaneers have not been one of the bigger movers at the trade deadline under Jason Licht.
There are a few moves that could happen, but it feels like people predict these major trades every season and they almost never come to pass for the Bucs. The team likes its evaluation of players and personnel, and trading depth hasn’t been on their list for a while now.
Still, one name that has popped up for the trade block is Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and this even coming out just makes the Buccaneers look silly.
#Buccaneers RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn is a name to watch at the #NFL trade deadline and will be available, per sources.
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) October 16, 2022
Vaughn, 25, has appeared in 25 games rushing for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns | @HeavyOnSports pic.twitter.com/t43fpTq2tm
This entire saga was weird from the start.
Tampa drafting Vaughn at such a high spot was questionable from the moment Vaughn’s name was called, but if the team liked him, it was worth seeing what the back from Vandy could do.
Unfortunately, even with all of the questionable running back play over the last three years in Tampa, Vaughn has essentially received no opportunities.
Now, if the Bucs really are trying to move on from Vaughn, something that would track when looking at his use and the start of the season, this just shows how large the disconnect is between reality and the fantasy world that made this seem like a good idea.
Everyone on the planet knew the Bucs over-drafted Vaughn. The last three years have only proven that more and more, yet the Buccaneers didn’t even use Vaughn in a way to show people wrong.
Why would any team give up capital for a player that makes way more sense as a waiver claim when the Bucs have to make a move down the road?
The value just isn’t there, but this will be worth watching as we see how this news will impact the relationship between the back and the team.
For what its worth, if the Bucs really did want to trade Vaughn, they should probably start getting him more touches as soon as possible, but the best time to do this was last season when Vaughn was showing himself as a better back than Ronald Jones.
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