Bucs have little choice but to reward Sean Tucker after explosive performance against the Bills
Tampa Bay’s third-year ball carrier had a huge day on Sunday in Buffalo.
Sean Tucker doesn’t often get the opportunity he’s deserved as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The third-year player out of Syracuse has been used sporadically behind starter Bucky Irving and primary backup Rachaad White over the last two years.
However, on Sunday afternoon against Buffalo, Tucker was a bright spot in a dismal 44-32 loss. He put forth the kind of rushing performance that you don’t often see in the league, particularly from a backup. He totaled 106 rushing yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns. He also added 34 receiving yards on two catches with another score. He ran with power, vision, and burst that had the look of a legit every down NFL running back.
The Bucs have now seen that kind of big performance twice in two years, and it’s time they adequately reward that performance with a bump up the depth chart.
Tampa Bay has to get Sean Tucker more involved in the offensive gameplan moving forward
Tucker gave fans a look at his potential last season against the New Orleans Saints. In the Bucs’ 51-27 win, Tucker ran wild, totaling 192 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns. He ran 14 times for 136 yards and turned 3 catches into 56 yards and a score. The effort was good enough to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
However, Tucker went right back to the bench after the game and has logged double-digit touches just twice since. He had 12 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown in a 23-3 win over New Orleans last month before Sunday’s explosion against Buffalo.
Irivng will obviously take over as the team’s lead back upon his return, and he should, given his overall talent and penchant for explosive plays. I’m certainly not arguing against that. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to rotate backs more to preserve their star and give defenses another running style to have to deal with.
And Tucker has shown that Todd Bowles and his staff should think long and hard about making Tucker that first player off the bench to spell Irving moving forward.
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