ESPN's Adam Schefter is stirring the trade rumor pot for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the NFL Draft.
Schefter listed Rachaad White as 'expendable' and a player who could get traded before the NFL Draft is over. He didn't provide any further detail, which is deeply unhelpful, but this is perhaps the highest profile mention of White as a trade chip so far this offseason.
White has been a popular name in these sorts of conversations since the offseason began. He went from being a potential cap casualty to a trade chip, both of which are baffling. It's not that the Bucs can't replace White; it's that the team isn't much better without him.
Trading White would mean doing so to add a piece that actively gets the team a step closer to winning a Super Bowl next year. It's hard to argue that outside of some sort of lopsided deal, or stroke of luck in the draft, that the Bucs offense wouldn't be in danger of taking a step back if he gets moved.
Buccaneers trading Rachaad White during the NFL Draft would be a mistake
One thing that has been consistently conflated in these conversations is the idea that keeping White is a slight against Bucky Irving. The belief among some seems to be that not trading White would mean crowding the backfield and taking carries away from Bucky -- who is objectively the better back.
Stop it.
Whether or not White is on the team doesn't change the fact that Irving is one of the best young running backs in the league. He won't lose carries to White if they share a backfield, nor will Sean Tucker get pushed to the shadows as RB3.
Last year we saw what a three-headed monster out of the backfield looks like with Bucky-White-Tucker, and not wanting to run that back is foolish. Tucker was great but is still unproven as true No. 2, and removing White from the equation puts a ton of pressure on Bucky in just his second year.
It also removes a player who went over 1,000 total yards last season and nine touchdowns. He offers things that Bucky doesn't, which is the definition of complementary football. There are arguements for trading White, but the Bucs are not a better team if they trade him.
Time is also running out for him to get dealt, though. If the Bucs want to trade White then they'll need to figure out a way to fill out some running back depth in the draft. That's another reason why trading him doesn't make a ton of sense. It would get ahead of a contract situation that likely ends with him leaving, but to sell this early and do so for a mid-round pick while jeopordizing next season is the type of mistake the Bucs would be wise to avoid.
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