Buccaneers sign Leonard Fournette replacement to pair with Rachaad White
By Josh Hill
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to make moves in free agency, signing Leonard Fournette’s replacement to pair with Rachaad White.
Despite coming into the offseason making it appear as though things would be grim and slow-going, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to make moves.
Call it a sleight of hand trick or call it a miscalculation, but the Bucs have added four free agents in the last three days at key positions on the roster.
Jamel Dean and Lavonte David are returning free agents, having chosen to forgo testing the open market to take deals that bring them back to Tampa Bay. Dean was handed a $52 million deal while David returns on a $7 million deal — both of which hardly come close to breaking the bank for a team that remains a bit strapped for cash.
Baker Mayfield was signed on Wednesday to compete with Kyle Trask for the starting quarterback role, coming to Tampa Bay on a $4.5 million that could pay him as much as $8.5. Another low-risk, high-reward move for the Bucs.
On Thursday the team made another move to fill a hole in the backfield and replace an outgoing free agent with another high-upside gamble.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bucs signed free agent running back Chase Edmonds to fill out Dave Canales and Skip Peete’s backfield.
Greg Auman notes that it’s another fanatic deal by the Bucs front office as the team masterfully navigate choppy free agent waters.
Good value signing for Bucs in getting running back Chase Edmonds on a one-year, veteran minimum salary. That should be a $1.08 million base, $152,500 bonus. Good depth behind Rachaad White for 2023.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 16, 2023
B-e-a-utiful!
Edmonds is expected to come in and fill the void left by Leonard Fournette as Rachaad White assumed RB1 duties next season, which makes sense at the price the Bucs are getting him at.
It seems like the backfield belongs to White, which is exciting given the flashes he showed during an otherwise forgettable season last year for Tampa Bay’s running backs. Skip Peete coming in to help fix things furthers that excitement and now the Bucs have the addition of a veteran back in Edmonds to fill the Fournette hole and also serve as a mentor for White.
What was the league’s worst backfield last year has suddenly become one of the Bucs most intriguing position groups heading into next season.