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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are making running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn available in trade talks ahead of the November 1 deadline, per Heavy Sports NFL insider Matt Lombardo. After being selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft, Vaughn has been unable to carve out a consistent role with the Bucs.
“Buccaneers RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn is a name to watch at the NFL trade deadline and will be available, per sources,” Lombardo reported on October 16, 2022. “Vaughn, 25, has appeared in 25 games rushing for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns.”
Through the first five weeks of the season, Tampa Bay is averaging just 66 rushing yards per contest, the second lowest among NFL teams. Heading into the draft, Vaughn had an impressive collegiate resume with back-to-back seasons topping 1,000 rushing yards. Vaughn notched 2,272 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns over his final two college seasons in Nashville.
“Vaughn is a speedy, run-to-daylight ball carrier with the active play style that helps create missed tackles,” The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote in his pre-draft profile of Vaughn. “While he is fairly reliable as a pass catcher and blocker, he might not have the decision-making qualities required to be a dependable every-down back vs. NFL defenses.”
Where Are Possible Landing Spots for Vaughn?
The Buccaneers will likely find it challenging to get a notable return for Vaughn in a potential trade. Vaughn has played in three games for Tampa Bay this season and has yet to receive a carry. The running back had 36 rushes for 180 yards and two touchdowns during 12 appearances in 2021.
There are plenty of running back-needy teams around the league including the Rams, Dolphins and Bills. The Seahawks RB1 Rashaad Penny sustained a season-ending injury in Week 5, but Seattle appears poised to turn over the bulk of the carries to rookie Ken Walker III.
Tampa Bay has leaned solely on Leonard Fournette and rookie Rachaad White in the backfield this season with largely underwhelming results. Fournette has received 74.78% of the team’s snaps at running back, while White has earned 25.8% of the offensive plays.
Brady: ‘We Need to Be Productive When We Do Run It’
Tom Brady has been vocal about his desire to have the rushing attack be more of a factor. After the Bucs’ loss to the Chiefs in Week 4, Brady outlined why the team’s running game has gotten off to a slow start.
“It’s too difficult to become one-dimensional over the course of a season, and we have not done a good job in the run game this year,” Brady explained during an October 3 episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast. “We started off pretty good against Dallas, who’s actually a really good defense and ran the ball really well. And against the Saints it wasn’t very good, against the Packers it wasn’t very good, and yesterday [versus Chiefs].
“And I think a lot of it comes down to playing from behind where you become one-dimensional and you throw the ball so much. But, at the same time, we need to be productive when we do run it. So getting ourselves in the right run play. Getting our guys the right angles and the right opportunities to have some confidence that we can make yards when we hand the ball off.”
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