Nov 9, 2026, 12:21 AM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 18 of his 32 pass attempts for 243 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions during Sunday's Week 9 loss against the Chicago Bears. The 31-year-old has been an incredibly disappointing fantasy option ever since he returned from injury in Week 7. Across his three games since returning, Mayfield has yet to post double-digit fantasy points in a single game, and he has just 307 yards and one touchdown during that span. Low passing volume and turnovers have been a major red flag for the former No. 1 pick this year, making him a riskier fantasy option when the Bucs return from their Week 10 bye. It also doesn't help that the Bucs have a new-look receiver room this season, with the biggest loss being Mike Evans (Achilles), who is now in San Francisco. Mayfield is a low-end QB2 with a low floor going forward.--Andersen Pickard
Source: RotoBaller

Nov 8, 2026, 11:41 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving totaled 20 carries, 97 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns during Sunday's Week 9 loss against the Chicago Bears. He also caught four of his five targets for an additional 28 receiving yards. Irving ranks fourth among all NFL players in rushing yards per game this season, and the three running backs that he trails are Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Kenneth Walker III. That's a pretty good group to be associated with, and in addition to his rushing production, Irving has carved out a sizable pass-catching role to boost his value in PPR leagues. He has also been able to share some touches with Kenneth Gainwell without letting it impact his own fantasy outlook too much, as there are plenty of touches to go around in this Tampa Bay run game. Irving now has 20+ points (PPR) in three consecutive weeks, and he should continue to be deployed as a low-end RB1 heading into the Bucs' Week 10 bye.--Andersen Pickard
Source: RotoBaller

Nov 7, 2026, 1:20 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell has emerged as an intriguing waiver wire target, and he appears to be more than just a handcuff going forward. The Bucs have leaned on the run game the last two weeks, allowing both Bucky Irving and Gainwell to carve out substantial standalone value in fantasy football. After logging just 19 carries through the first six weeks of the season, Gainwell has exploded with 39 carries over his last two games, partly due to game script and weather. While Tampa could certainly scale back the rushing attempts this week against the Bears, Irving should remain a fringe RB1 while Gainwell continues to be an RB3/flex option. As a result, fantasy managers should consider picking up Gainwell ahead of Week 9. He is no longer just a handcuff with appeal to Irving's managers, but is now a legitimate option for fantasy lineups in leagues with 12+ teams. Although he remains available in 52% of leagues, managers should make a move to pick him up now, because his roster share will soar if he turns in another big performance on Sunday night.--Andersen Pickard
Source: RotoBaller

Nov 6, 2026, 5:01 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell put together his best performance of the season during last week's win over the Atlanta Falcons. Gainwell carried the ball 25 times for 140 yards during the victory. Both the carries and the yardage were season highs for Gainwell, who has seen a minimal workload throughout most of the season. The Bucs have leaned heavily on the rushing attack lately, which has led to more carries for Gainwell over the last two weeks. He has run extremely well over the last two games and figures to continue having an expanded role in Week 9. Sadly, he'll run into a Chicago Bears defense that ranks 4th in rush defense. The expectation is that the Bucs are going to continue pounding the ball, so Gainwell should at least be able to offer flex value in deep leagues.--Andy Webb
Source: Pro Football Reference

Nov 6, 2026, 4:54 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving has been putting up elite fantasy numbers over the last few weeks. The Bucs have been leaning heavily on the running game lately, and Irving is taking advantage of it. Last week, Irving carried the ball 27 times for 170 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Atlanta Falcons. Both the carries and the yardage were season highs for Irving, who now has three games with over 100 yards this season. Irving will now run into a tough Chicago Bears defense in Week 9. A defensive unit that ranks 4th in the league in rush defense this season. Given Irving's success lately, the Bucs are likely going to continue pounding the ball even in a tough matchup. Irving sits as Rotoballer's RB8 this week and should be considered a borderline RB1 for this weekend.--Andy Webb
Source: Pro Football Reference

Nov 4, 2026, 10:40 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell (hip) was limited during Wednesday's practice with a hip injury, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. The official injury report for the Buccaneers confirms Gainwell's status. Gainwell is coming off a breakout game in a 16-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8, in which he recorded career highs in rushing attempts with 25 and rushing yards with 140, while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Earlier on Wednesday, Stroud reported that Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles noted that Gainwell is becoming the "1B" to Bucky Irving's "1A" that the Buccaneers envisioned for Gainwell when they signed him. Gainwell's status for a Week 9 matchup with the Chicago Bears will need to continue to be monitored throughout the week, but a limited session on Wednesday shouldn't be of too much concern as things currently stand.--Ryan O'Bleness
Source: Rick Stroud - Tampa Bay Times

Nov 4, 2026, 8:26 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell has looked like what the team envisioned him to be when they added him in the offseason over the last couple of weeks as the 1B to Bucky Irving's 1A, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Through the first six games, Irving was doing his thing while Gainwell mostly watched and waited, never seeing more than five carries in a game. Gainwell had 14 carries for 88 yards in the Week 7 win over the Carolina Panthers and then saw a season-high 25 carries for 140 rushing yards in a rain-soaked 16-0 win over the division-rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Irving also had a career-best 170 yards on 27 carries on the ground. Tampa had a club-record 324 rushing yards in Week 8. "I think we finally got to where we're utilizing Kenny more and more, and that's kind of the 1A, 1B we were talking about when we first signed him," head coach Todd Bowles said. Irving is on pace for 312 rushing attempts, and the Bucs do not want to run him into the ground. Fantasy managers should not expect another ground domination like the Bucs had on Sunday against Atlanta, but Gainwell's stock is back up after he was dropped in a lot of fantasy leagues after his slow start. He is still rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues and is worth adding again with Tampa potentially riding their two RBs as much as possible going forward.--Keith Hernandez
Source: Tampa Bay Times - Rick Stroud

Nov 2, 2026, 11:25 AM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell has made a compelling case for a waiver-wire addition after rushing for 228 yards on 39 carries over the last two games. He followed his 88-yard performance against Carolina in Week 7 with a career-high 140 yards on 25 carries in Sunday's 16-0 victory over Atlanta. Gainwell played 50% of Tampa Bay's offensive snaps, up from 30% the previous week, although the unusually heavy workload came in a rain-soaked game in which the Buccaneers completed no passes. Bucky Irving remained the lead back, rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Gainwell's recent production is encouraging, but Sunday's circumstances make another 25-carry outing difficult to project. He is worth adding in leagues with 10 or more teams as a valuable insurance option behind Irving, with some standalone appeal if his involvement continues. Fantasy managers should view him as backfield depth rather than a dependable Week 9 starter against Chicago.--Bruno Mulé
Source: RotoBaller

Nov 1, 2026, 11:14 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell rushed for 140 yards on 25 carries during Sunday's Week 8 win over the Atlanta Falcons. It was a historic day for the Buccaneers, who won 16-0 despite completing zero pass attempts. This is the first time an NFL team has won a game without completing a pass since 1974. Instead, Tampa Bay ran the ball a whopping 56 times for 324 yards. Both Gainwell and Bucky Irving had 25+ carries and 140+ rushing yards in the victory, representing an enormous accomplishment from the backfield. While Irving remains the undisputed No. 1 running back in Tampa Bay, we can't ignore the fact that Gainwell has carved out a sizable role in the last two weeks. Between his last two games, the veteran running back has a total of 39 carries and 228 rushing yards, although he's still looking for his first rushing touchdown of the season. The game script and weather conditions may prompt the Bucs to run the ball less in Week 9 against the Bears, but Gainwell has still done enough to put his name on the fantasy radar as a volume-based RB3/flex.--Andersen Pickard
Source: RotoBaller

Nov 1, 2026, 5:53 PM ET

One of the most bizarre games in modern NFL history led to a huge day for Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving, who broke loose for 170 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries in a 16-0 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. With the majority of the game played in driving rain and the Bucs' running game churning out first down after first down, Tampa Bay threw the ball only three times and finished with zero completions, the first time since 1974 that an NFL team failed to complete at least one pass. In addition to Irving's big day, Kenny Gainwell also easily cleared the century mark, going for 140 on 25 carries as Tampa compiled a franchise-record 324 rushing yards. Irving has 487 rushing yards and four touchdowns in his past four games, a hot streak that will keep him firmly on the fantasy radar when Tampa travels to Chicago next week.--Nick Piotrowicz
Source: ESPN

Nov 1, 2026, 12:18 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell (hip) is officially active for Sunday's Week 8 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. The 27-year-old was listed as questionable after missing Wednesday's practice, but returned as a limited participant Thursday before logging a full session Friday. Gainwell rushed for a season-high 88 yards on 14 carries in Tampa Bay's 43-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 7. However, his increased workload came in a blowout, with starter Bucky Irving resting in the fourth quarter after rushing for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Gainwell had recorded just 19 carries through his first six games, making last week's performance an exception to his usual involvement. With Irving firmly established as Tampa Bay's lead back and Sean Tucker also available, Gainwell remains more of a deep-league insurance option than a dependable fantasy starter against Atlanta.--Bruno Mulé
Source: Jeremy Fowler

Nov 1, 2026, 8:41 AM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell (hip) is "good to go" for Sunday's Week 8 contest against the Atlanta Falcons, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Gainwell will suit up for this week's divisional battle despite being listed as questionable. The 27-year-old salvaged his fantasy performance last week with some garbage-time touches, but we don't expect that pattern to continue this week. A projected spread of TB -2.5 indicates that we're in for a close game, which will result in more competitive touches for Bucky Irving and fewer garbage-time opportunities for Gainwell and Sean Tucker. Nevertheless, it's still good news that he'll be active, as he provides additional insurance in a deep backfield behind Irving. He should continue to be stashed as a solid handcuff option in a rushing attack that appears to be trending up.--Andersen Pickard
Source: Jeremy Fowler

Oct 31, 2026, 10:33 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell (hip) accrued some garbage-time fantasy points last week, but we don't expect that to happen again in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons. On the injury front, it's worth noting that Gainwell is listed as questionable but expected to play. Last week was the first time this season that Gainwell had more than five carries or more than 20 rushing yards. It was also just his second game with more than 5.8 fantasy points in PPR leagues. For the most part, Gainwell has spent this season in a clear backup role behind workhorse ball-carrier Bucky Irving. We expect that trend to continue in Week 8, with Gainwell's only clear path to production being a positive game script environment in garbage time. For now, the 27-year-old is best viewed as a handcuff, so he's still worth stashing on the bench for fantasy managers who also have Irving on their roster. However, he shouldn't find his way into the starting lineup in leagues with 14 or fewer teams.--Andersen Pickard
Source: RotoBaller

Oct 31, 2026, 6:42 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell (hip) is expected to play in Week 8 against the division-rival Atlanta Falcons, according to Greg Auman of Fox Sports. Gainwell was originally listed as questionable for Sunday's matchup, but the team has not elevated anyone from the practice squad, suggesting Gainwell will be active. In addition, the 27-year-old was a full participant in the Buccaneers' final practice on Friday. Gainwell enters Week 8 as RotoBaller's PPR RB41 and should be out of fantasy lineups if possible. He's been unable to replicate his fantasy production from his time in Pittsburgh a year ago and has operated as the RB2 behind Bucky Irving. In seven games, Gainwell has surpassed double-digit fantasy points once, and it took a receiving touchdown to do it.--Wyatt McClintock
Source: Fox Sports - Greg Auman