7 Buccaneers players who won't be back in 2024
By Josh Hill
Chase Edmonds, RB
There are a handful of areas the Bucs will need to work on improving this offseason, and one of those spots is at running back. Rachaad White seems to be locked in as RB1, but the depth behind him in the backfield is where some questions will need to be answered.
It's a similar situation to the one Tampa Bay was in last offseason, as the loss of Leonard Fournette created a need for someone to fill the gap behind White. Rookie Sean Tucker was an early favorite but fell off while Ke'Shawn Vaughn was released halfway through the season, after which Edmonds started to step up.
He missed a large chunk of the season with an injury and needed to be placed on IR, but even after returning, he didn't make that much of an impact. Edmonds finished the season with just 176 yards and a 3.5 yards per carry average, and was mostly used as a change of pace back to give White a breather.
It's not that Edmonds wasn't good -- he didn't make any big mistakes in the limited action he saw -- it's a question of whether a better option is available. Tampa Bay has more money to spend this offseason, which wasn't the case last year when Edmonds was brought in. Perhaps Dave Canales wants to run back the same group and lobbies for Edmonds to return, but not having much wiggle room in the wallet likely kept the Bucs out of the market for guys like Zeke Elliott and Dalvin Cook, who could be brooding complementary backs to White that edges Edmonds out of the conversation.