An Explanation Why Sean Tucker Played So Much On Friday
August 17th, 2026
Doesn’t need extra snaps.
Hey, even a broken clock gets it right twice a day.
The notorious PFF tribe, inventors of the game of football and supreme arbiters of the sport — just ask them — came out with a logical explanation, sort of, as to why Bucs running back Sean Tucker was on the field for much of the first half on Friday night.
Joe typed an article about this and Joe wasn’t too happy. Why keep Tucker on the field? He’s a valuable cog in the Bucs running attack and Joe did not see any reason why he should have been subjected to additional hits.
For what reason? The Bucs don’t have enough tape on the guy?
Well, Nathan Jahnke didn’t exactly have an excuse, but he did have a plausible explanation as to why Tucker played so much in the first half of the Bucs’ first worthless preseason game against the J-E-T-S… Jets, Jets, Jets.
Seems, per Jahnke, the Bucs were shorthanded with running backs.
However, the Buccaneers have only five running backs on their roster. Every other team outside of Tampa Bay and the Las Vegas Raiders has at least six. Teams typically use at least four running backs over the course of a preseason game, but with Irving and Gainwell resting, Tampa Bay had only three available. That context helps explain why Tucker, despite entering his fourth season, was still on the field alongside undrafted rookies.
OK, that makes sense, but still: Why not have Kadarius Calloway and Josh Williams take the bulk of the carries? Williams is a bubble player with something to prove and Calloway is basically camp meat with much more to prove.
Those guys could use the snaps a whole lot more than Tucker needed.
August 17th, 2026 at 12:36 am
Don’t tell me Joe’s figuring out what many of us already knew….
Bowles sucks.
August 17th, 2026 at 12:44 am
Obviously Bowles knows that Zac wanted to see what he has in Tucker first hand.
Don’t act like Todd is some kind of moron.
August 17th, 2026 at 1:02 am
The post-bye 2nd half of 2025 saw Tucker average 2.5 yards per carry. A guy getting limited duty needs to be better than that when his number is called.
I have a feeling he’ll end the preseason doing what he did against the Jets a couple more times. It’s worth finding out if he or Williams is the better choice as RB3 in Robinson’s system. Or possibly someone else not on the roster yet.
August 17th, 2026 at 2:22 am
Well it isn’t gonna ne Calloway any more.
August 17th, 2026 at 5:35 am
What if Sean Tucker asked to play?
August 17th, 2026 at 6:05 am
We signed Barika Kpeenu out of NDSU
August 17th, 2026 at 6:54 am
Truly is absurd. Please solve this great mystery. It’s absolutely inexcusable that a 3rd string RB get FOUR carries!! Plus the guy had to use his hands to catch TWO balls!!
Heads need to roll and someone needs to be held responsible!
Is this REAL life??
August 17th, 2026 at 6:59 am
I don’t know if this was the Bucs thinking or not, but from a pure evaluation standpoint, when attempting to solve a problem, it is always best to minimize variables. Therefore, by using a more consistent back such as Tucker for more snaps, it may have made evaluation of other players around him more reliable.
August 17th, 2026 at 7:03 am
Love him, dislike him or think he “sucks”, but using Joey’s very weird fascination with a 3rd string RB being asked to carry the ball FOUR fing times, as an opportunity to say “see yeah Bowles sucks” “yeah yeah”.
I hear Beavis and Butthead voices in these comments
Cant find this level of “reporting” many places.