Kenny Gainwell = Bucky Irving
March 19th, 2026
Bucs GM Jason Licht talks about his new running back.
Joe found it unique that the Bucs signed a running back that plays a nearly identical game to that of incumbent No. 1 running back Bucky Irving.
At least that was Joe’s take after watching a bunch of film of running back Kenny Gainwell.
Yesterday at One Buc Palace, Joe asked Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager about his new, big-money signing Gainwell, the former Steelers standout and Eagles role player and Super Bowl winner.
JoeBucsFan.com: What can you say about the pursuit of Kenny Gainwell? He seems a lot like Bucky Irving, very similar player. Can you talk about that? Usually, teams go after a complementary kind of piece.
Jason Licht: You definitely hit the mark there; he’s very similary. When you watch Kenny, you see [Bucky]; when you watch Bucky, you see Kenny. However you want to say it. He’s a very good special teams player, as well. He’s good in pass protection. He’s very good on third down. And we think this is definitely not somebody we’re looking to replace Bucky with. But when you have, you know, complementary pieces like that, it certainly helps your offense.
Licht added the Bucs talked a lot about Gainwell months before free agency. He also said he recently got a text from one of Gainwell’s former employers who wrote of Gainwell, “He’s a great player and an even better person; one of the best we’ve ever had here.”
Given Licht’s relationship with Eagles GM Howie Roseman, Joe will speculate that’s who sent the text. Gainwell, 27, spent his first four seasons in Philadelphia after being their fifth-round pick in 2021.
March 19th, 2026 at 10:06 am
Hmmm replace Buck with….
March 19th, 2026 at 10:07 am
Looks like insurance if Bucky doesn’t bounce back.
March 19th, 2026 at 10:11 am
Neither is a bell cow back. Both are scat backs that can’t go a whole game between the tackles. Bucs need a 220 lb back that can soften defenses. That’s when Bucky, and Gainwell can go to work. Starting Bucky, and slamming him up the middle to begin games is going to get him killed. Happened last season.
March 19th, 2026 at 10:14 am
To get the same type of player is kinda wild they should have gotten aj dillon but look at what the panthers did tsk tsk
March 19th, 2026 at 10:16 am
Bucky must be banged up…foot and/or shoulder must not be healed…
sounds like Bucky will have a “procedure” in July much like wirfs lol
GO BUCS!!!!
March 19th, 2026 at 10:20 am
“And we think this is definitely not somebody we’re looking to replace Bucky with. But when you have, you know, complementary pieces like that, it certainly helps your offense.”
100% had complimentary pieces last season, Jason. Got to actually use them this time around.
March 19th, 2026 at 10:21 am
Rotation = fresh legs through season without altering blocking schemes/game plans and/or sacrificing pass protection. Double the Bucky, Double the Fun.
March 19th, 2026 at 10:29 am
I had the exact same thought as this Joe about this after seeing the news
I pretty much stated the exact same verbatim (albeit much more of a tangent than Joe’s succinct delivery) on the first original JoeBucsFan post about the Gainwell signing to kick off FA
Nothing to add!
March 19th, 2026 at 11:12 am
When I think of a “complementary” I think of a fullback paired with a scatback. Not a scat-back paired with a scat-back.
WTF! Who’s going to hit the line for 2 yards for a first down?
March 19th, 2026 at 11:19 am
As it seems now, Bucky and Gainwell are fairly similar, which allows the OC to not have to change the gameplan much if one is injured.
We still need a bruiser/big RB for short-yardage…unless Tucker or Williams will turn out to be the red zone/short yards guys. Maybe they will draft a RB?
March 19th, 2026 at 11:19 am
Did we ever find out what Florio was suggesting about Bucky last season? This almost seems more like an insurance signing than a complementary signing.
March 19th, 2026 at 11:34 am
Bucs now have 3 small backs. All 5’10” and at 200 lbs. Tucker being the fastest and Bucky being the slowest. They need a power back bad.
March 19th, 2026 at 11:37 am
Kenneth Gainwell is not similar to Bucky.
He’s a better blocker than Bucky
A better receiver than Bucky
A much better Special Teams player
And he’s a team player first, doing what they ask of him
Gainwell is a Swiss Army Knife
They didn’t give Gainwell $10 Million in guaranteed money
Just to compliment Bucky, l don’t believe anything Licht or Bowles say
It’s obvious what they plan to do with Gainwell
They want Bucky to be the runner he was in 2024
They want 4.5 ypc or more from him, they want him healthy
They want a full season from him
March 19th, 2026 at 11:39 am
I know it’s just vocabulary, but two similar players are redundant, not complementary. Greenwell is being paid too much not to be on the field almost
all the time. You have to wonder when a team lets its “MVP” go without much resistance. With the team showing little confidence in Tucker, your have to wonder if they’re going running back in round one or two.
March 19th, 2026 at 11:41 am
Brian Robinson is still out there and would be a good goal line, short yardage back.
March 19th, 2026 at 12:01 pm
Mo, I think the plus side to this is that with similar skill sets, you don’t have to change the offense much when one back is in versus the other. And as noted, Kenny is better in pass-pro which is probably the biggest thing we will miss from White. And he’s a very good receiver. So instead of one main tailback, we have two that have similar strengths and will theoretically always be fresh.
March 19th, 2026 at 12:13 pm
Kenneth Gainwell only played 2 years at Memphis
His fist season, he didn’t see the field that much on offense
Because of Darrell Henderson and Tony Pollard ahead of him
But after they left , Gainwell was the starter
He put up huge numbers as the feature back
1,459 rushing yards, 610 receiving yards
He can be the feature back
But he’s best at being the Swiss Army Knife
March 19th, 2026 at 12:17 pm
Yep. CYA signing.
March 19th, 2026 at 12:27 pm
So White is listed at 6.0′ 214 and Tucker is 5’10” 205 not much difference in size.
March 19th, 2026 at 12:31 pm
Hey we have two Mike Evans… why would we do that? Is Mike retiring, does he have ebola? What is going on?
…
What if it’s as simple as it’s good to have two Mike Evans?
Also, while I really like Gainwell — no, he’s not Bucky, he’s a tier below that. Which is more about Bucky being ridiculously good than anything bad against Gainwell.
March 19th, 2026 at 12:38 pm
For the big back – said it weeks ago, said it yesterday…
Go trade a late-round pick for AR15.
He’s not much of a value at QB, although he could still serve as a backup – but around the goal line, he’s a real weapon. Also, if you viewed him more as a weapon, you could use him in other short yardage situations – and every once in a while give him a chance to throw the ball in those situations. Seriously – I don’t think it would cost more than probably a 6th rounder to get him. Then, while in camp, you can always see if there is anything you can do to get him more accurate – but he’d be quite the weapon if they used him correctly.
March 19th, 2026 at 12:51 pm
“They want Bucky to be the runner he was in 2024
They want 4.5 ypc or more from him, they want him healthy
They want a full season from him”
Back when he was actually splitting the load in the RB room or like he was splitting the load his entire stay in Eugene.
March 19th, 2026 at 12:55 pm
We have a secret weapon fullback already…Vita Vea!
March 19th, 2026 at 1:26 pm
Lakeland – it wasn’t even really 2 seasons at Memphis
He redshirted his 1st season after a couple games. The following season was his only real season there when they had Patrick Taylor and Antonio Gibson in the backfield with him. Gibson was a senior that season too and still the redshirt freshman put on quite the season there and stole the show.