TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Richard White isn’t shy about telling you what he can do when he gets the football. You can call him a swifty- no, not the Taylor Swift kind —and a power runner.
“When I need to be (powerful), I’ll be (powerful),” White said. “When I need to be swift and smooth, I’ll be smooth.”
White is tired of hearing about how bad the Bucs are at rushing. Tampa Bay hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since “Muscle Hamster” Doug Martin nine years ago. White came close last season by just 10 yards, finishing with 990 yards rushing and six touchdowns on the ground, along with three receiving TDs.
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Bucs head coach Todd Bowles doesn’t care what you call him as long as he gets yards and helps the team win. White is still the lead back, but rookie Bucky Irving has been showing flashes in training camp. The Bucs know you need more than one running back in a long NFL season.
Tampa Bay was hoping to get more out of veteran running back Chase Edmons, but he’s been hurt all of camp. White doesn’t care if he has to give up some of the workload because he could sometimes use a breather.
“It would help out a lot,” White said about having to share some of the load. “I’ll be out here sometimes where I feel like I’m dragging. I talk to Chase (Edmonds).. still my guy, and he’ll be like, “No bro, you’re not dragging (You’re) fine. Chase be like, “Stop it, bro, I’m in year seven bro. “You’re not old at all.”
Teamwise, White feels the sky’s the limit, but one thing the Bucs have to do better at in games is get the offense clicking right from the start.
“Obviously, we’ve been starting slow,” White said. “Our biggest emphasis is, we’ve got to start fast, and that will take you down the stretch, and then in the fourth quarter, it’s all about will.”
The Arizona State product likes to catch passes out of the backfield and in fact used to be a receiver in college. White had more than 1,500 all-purpose yards in 2023. Bottom line, whatever it takes for the Bucs to be the last team standing at the end of the postseason, he’s all in.
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