4 running backs Bucs could target to replace Chase Edmonds

Ke’Shawn Vaughn

Perhaps the best option the Bucs have to replace Chase Edmonds is already in-house.

It's been a roller coaster offseason for Ke'Shawn Vaughn, who went from being RB2 when Leonard Fournette left, to being a dark horse candidate to shine this year, to being a potential camp cut, to eventually ghosting the Bucs first practice of the year. He hasn't moved in the right direction, both on and off the field, and the result is a situation where Tampa Bay has a disgruntled player on its roster.

For as rough as Vaughn was this offseason -- posting negative total yardage in his first preseason game -- the Bucs didn't end up cutting him when putting together the final 53-man roster. If the team wanted him gone he'd already be somewhere else, but they held onto him and gave him a roster spot when those were at an absolute premium in training camp.

That should tell you something about how he's viewed, despite how he might be feeling two weeks into the season. If Vaughn wants an opportunity to prove himself, it might have just been presented in the form of Edmonds possibly heading to IR. He'll still be RB3 behind Rachaad White and Sean Tucker, but he'll at least be active and in a position to contribute on an offense that is trending in the right direction.

Part of the reason why so many were high on Vaughn as a sleeper this offseason was how he might be able to develop in Dave Canales and Skip Peete's system. We might get a good look at that moving forward, as replacing Edmonds with Vaughn would require no salary cap gymnastics and little learning curve before being able to get him into action. It would also allow the Bucs to free up a roster spot to promote someone from the practice squad, a unit that has eligible candidates like J.J. Russell and Pat O'Connor.

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