Free agency is set to open in less than a month, and before that the NFL Combine is going to give us all our first good look at this year's draft class. All of that means the fervor of the offseason is about to hit like nobody's business, and with it will come the chaos of rumors swirling about which players could be on the move.
Not every name that gets moved is obvious, and not all moves are telegraphed in advance. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved that last year when they chased obvious moves like re-signing Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans with a surprise trade of Carlton Davis III.
It's a trade that made sense, but proves that not all cards are always on the table. That's something the Bucs could end up doing again this offseason.
ESPN's Aaron Schatz looked at some bold and surprising moves teams could make this offseason and thinks the Buccaneers releasing Rachaad White could be something that happens.
"The Buccaneers enter free agency with only $2.2 million in cap space. They need to make some room and one way to do it is to say goodbye to White. The running back is entering the final year of his rookie contract, so the Buccaneers can cut him for $3.3 million in cap savings with less than $250,000 in dead money," Schatz wrote.
While it makes some sense from the standpoint of saving some money, it feels like overthinking things a little bit. The ingredients are there to think, at a glance, that White is an odd-man-out in a crowded backfield. Let's pump the brakes a bit on that notion, though, as it's one that would seemingly weaken a Buccaneers offense that can't afford to take any steps back in 2025.
Buccaneers releasing Rachaad White would be a massive mistake
Bucky Irving was a revelation last year, but we've only seen a single season of production out of him. He has all the tools to be a franchise back but it's still a bit early to put all of the team's backfield eggs in his basket.
That logic applies even more when it comes to Sean Tucker. Last year he finally showed flashes of the guy everyone bought stock in two years ago as an undrafted rookie, but he's still too unproven to be relied upon as RB2 on the depth chart. That's not a knock on him in terms of his long-term value but it's way too early to say he'll be the type of back who can help make up the difference of losing White.
If anything, White should be viewed as potential trade bait rather than a cut candidate. Jason Licht loves his draft picks and if moving on from White to save some cash is truly a route the team wants to take then moving him for picks should be the only way it happens.
The Kansas City Chiefs, for example, are a team the Bucs might be able to snag some picks from if they want to flip White. The same could be said for the Bears, Raiders, and Cowboys are all teams that feel like potential landing spots as well who are in the market for a running back upgrade.
Moving on from White isn't completely outrageous, but here's why simply releasing him is. Last year, the Bucs traded Carlton Davis III for a third-round pick after a far more disappointing season than White had. If the Bucs want to save money, getting picks in return for White makes a lot more sense than dumping him for nothing.
Ideally the Bucs run things back next year with the stable of backs they already have. Each guy brings something different to the backfield, and it's a formula that worked so well that it fixed the league's worst rushing attack. To start tinkering with that right away just to save a few million dollars doesn't feel like a good idea and at worst is the opposite of a winning strategy.
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