Kenny Gainwell
Gainwell is the No. 2 back behind Bucky Irving. His passing-down role, which was the reason Tampa Bay signed him, has been shrinking, and his best game came in a blowout, so his usage is unsettled.
Role
Backup to Irving in a three-back room with Sean Tucker. In the Week 7 win at Carolina, Pewter Report and BVM Sports had Irving at 59% of offensive snaps, Gainwell at 30% and Tucker at 14%. Gainwell had 14 carries there against Irving's 24 and Tucker's 7. The Week 6 loss to Pittsburgh, per PFF via Yahoo, had Irving on 63 of 74 snaps (85%) and Gainwell on 11, with eight routes and two carries. Week 5 at Dallas, per the same Yahoo report, was Irving 39 of 72 snaps and Gainwell 26. Earlier reports had Gainwell at 26 of 57 snaps in Week 1 (six touches) and 26 of 62 in a later game (three carries, one touchdown catch). A JoeBucsFan commenter put his Week 3 share at 46%, but that is unverified. He also returns kickoffs. I did not read a depth chart page, and the team has not said anything on the hip beyond the questionable tag.
Tampa Bay paid him a two-year, $14 million deal after he caught 73 passes for Pittsburgh last year, so the receiving role was planned. He ran for 88 yards at 6.3 per carry in Week 7, his best game of the season, and Pewter Report said the Irving-Gainwell split should be less lopsided than Irving-White was. Irving has missed time with injuries in past seasons, and Gainwell would be next in line for work if that happens.
Irving has taken over the passing-down work that Gainwell was signed for, as shown by Week 6 (85% to 15%). Yardbarker called the signing increasingly hard to justify. Tucker is also taking carries. The Week 7 production came in a 43-13 blowout, and the outlets covering it said the snap shares may not hold in a close game. CBS Sports' earlier blurb, in a note that carries no date in the search result, said he had been out-carried 17 to two by Irving in one game and out-targeted 11 to five by Irving over two games.
Where analysts split
Whether Gainwell keeps a real third-down and receiving role or is squeezed out by Irving and Tucker. Preseason coverage expected him to own the passing-down work. In-season coverage shows Irving taking it, and the Week 7 rushing bump came in a blowout whose snap shares Pewter Report and BVM Sports both said may not carry over.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at RB
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