Less than two drives into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' preseason opener, running back Rachaad White hobbled off the field clutching at his groin area. After lying on the sideline grass and then entering the blue medical tent, White's night was over, and it's unclear just how much time he's going to miss.
Losing White was the exact opposite of what anyone wanted to see, and it seems his early exit is just the beginning of what could be a bumpy road back.
There's no official update in terms of knowing exactly what the extent of White's injury is, but Todd Bowles confirmed what everyone initially feared. It's indeed a groin injury, and the Bucs will know more about how much time he'll miss after more MRI results come back on Monday.
Bowles said Rachaad White has a groin injury, more tests coming back nothing specific yet.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 10, 2025
The best case scenario here is that White merely tweaked something, and the Bucs will hold him out of the remainder of the preseason out of caution. It's extremely worrying, though, that the first update after his injury is that the team is waiting for more tests, which seems to indicate the injury could cut into his regular season playing time depending on how severe things are.
What makes this worse is the fact that even if White's groin injury is mild, it's still going to linger. He's entering a contract year and is set to hit free agency next March as a top target on the market. Losing valuable playing time in the regular season is going to hurt his value and give teams a reason to try and get him at a bargain when he's worth more.
Beyond the personal side of it, White is a huge piece of Tampa Bay's offense. Bucky Irving has secured the RB1 role, but White is a dual-threat sidekick who helps diversify Josh Grizzard's ability to draw up plays and offensive schemes.
Thankfully, the Bucs have Sean Tucker primed and ready to step up if White misses time in the regular season. It wouldn't be ideal to be down one of the more dynamic backs in the league, but the Bucs at least have more of a sound structure in place to fill in for White than they do in other areas of the roster -- like with Tristan Wirfs missing time to start the year.
Hopefully the tests come back and this ends up being nothing more than a mild injury, but it's hardly an ideal way for such a crucial season for White and the Buccaneers offense to begin.
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