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Buccaneers' Kenny Gainwell: Totals 15 yards in loss
Rotowire
Gainwell rushed two times for 10 yards in Sunday's 23-19 loss to the Browns. He added three catches for five yards on four targets.
The 27-year-old's role through two games with Tampa Bay has been a far cry from his elite pass-catching role alongside Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh last season. Bucky Irving out-carried Gainwell 17 to two against Cleveland, and he's been out-targeted 11 to five by Irving through two contests. Gainwell has shown no chance at a ceiling performance with Baker Mayfield and has devolved to RB4 territory until he shows up more in the box score.
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Buccaneers' Kenny Gainwell: Six touches on offense in loss
Rotowire
Gainwell rushed five times for 15 yards and brought in his lone target for three yards in the Buccaneers' 33-27 loss to the Bengals on Sunday. He also returned one kickoff for 22 yards.
Gainwell worked in the No. 2 role as expected, and with Sean Tucker (hamstring) unavailable Sunday, the former saw a sizable share of the Buccaneers' 13 running back touches. The ground attack took a back seat overall due to game script, but next Sunday's Week 2 home matchup against the Browns could certainly see pretty drastic change for the better in that regard, a development that would particularly benefit Gainwell if Tucker remains sidelined.
Buccaneers' Kenny Gainwell: Part of RB mix with Irving and Tucker
Rotowire
Gainwell is one of three running backs on Tampa Bay's 53-man roster, along with Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker (undisclosed), the latter of whom didn't practice Wednesday, per Greg Auman of Fox Sports.
Gainwell signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Buccaneers in March after leading the Steelers with 73 catches in the 2025 regular season. He's likely to fill a change-of-pace role while playing primarily in passing situations, much like Rachaad White did for the past couple seasons in a Buccaneers backfield that's expected to be led by Irving as long as the latter stays healthy. Tucker could be a thorn in the side of both Gainwell and Irving from a fantasy perspective if Tucker reprises his red-zone role from 2025, which helped him punch in a team-high seven rushing touchdowns.
Buccaneers' Kenny Gainwell: One carry in team debut
Rotowire
Gainwell rushed once for no gain in the Buccaneers' 16-15 preseason win over the Chiefs on Saturday.
Both Gainwell and Bucky Irving logged their touches for the night on the opening possession. Gainwell wasn't targeted Saturday during his brief time in the game, but the veteran pass-catching back is ticketed to play a major role in that capacity come the regular season, albeit while likely taking only a modest amount of rushing touches from Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker. Gainwell will likely next see the field in a Week 1 road matchup against the Bengals on Sunday, Sept. 13.
Buccaneers' Kenny Gainwell: Impresses Mayfield at camp
Rotowire
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield said Tuesday that he's been "completely overwhelmed with the amount of talent" that Gainwell has, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.
Dramatic language and all, Gainwell apparently has a very important fan on his new team. While Bucky Irving remains the presumed lead runner, Gainwell should get a lot of the work on passing downs while also maintaining a small role in "pony" packages with two halfbacks on the field. New playcaller Zac Robinson used those double-RB looks on a league-high 95 plays (9.1 percent of total snaps) with the division-rival Falcons last year.
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Buccaneers' Kenny Gainwell: Idle for Friday's exhibition contest
Rotowire
Gainwell did not play in the Buccaneers' 24-16 preseason win over the Jets on Friday.
Both Gainwell and Bucky Irving, the Bucs' top running backs on the depth chart, observed Friday's game in street clothes while Josh Williams, Sean Tucker and Kadarius Calloway all saw action. Gainwell is coming off a breakout 2025 season with the Steelers, when he accumulated 1,023 yards from scrimmage on 187 touches across 17 regular-season games. He caught 73 passes (on 85 targets) last year with Pittsburgh, and he figures to see a sizable role in Tampa Bay's passing game for the upcoming season.
Buccaneers' Kenneth Gainwell: Getting receiving work in camp
Rotowire
Gainwell has been utilized primarily as a receiver out of the backfield in training camp while Bucky Irving has handled most of the rushing workload, Adam Silvon of Pewterreport.com reports.
Irving is likely to get the majority of rushing opportunities in the regular season, and the Buccaneers also have Sean Tucker, who was used prominently in the red zone in 2025. Gainwell's niche is expected to be passing situations, so it's good to see him building early rapport with quarterback Baker Mayfield. Gainwell led the Steelers with 73 catches in the 2025 regular season, while Tampa Bay's running backs combined for 78 receptions last season.
