After spending the first two games of the season on the inactive list, Bucs running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn may have a larger role going forward. That could start as early as Sunday’s Week 3 matchup with the Packers.

Of course, a “larger role” for Vaughn begins with cracking the active roster on gameday. And he’s bound to suit up against Green Bay after Giovani Bernard hit injured reserve this week, which will force the veteran to miss the next four games. As for how much action Vaughn might see, it’s a wait-and-see game. Todd Bowles said Friday that the third-year running back will help on special teams for now and his role on offense will depend on the week.

Nonetheless, Tampa Bay’s head coach had a lot of praise for Vaughn’s play in the preseason.

“I think Ke’Shawn had a great preseason. I think he came to camp in shape and he did all the little things,” Bowles said. “He got better in every aspect of his ballgame and it will be exciting when he gets his chance to play. Depending on the game plan and what we do depends on whether he plays more or less that week, but in the meantime, he’ll work on special teams and when he gets his shot to go in there, I expect to see the same Ke’Shawn I saw in the preseason.”

Bucs RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The former Vanderbilt running back did have a great preseason. He was one of the few bright spots on the offense during some otherwise-pedestrian exhibition performances against Miami, Tennessee and Indianapolis back in August.

In those three games, Vaughn ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries (3.8 avg). He looked especially good in the final two preseason games, posting 90 yards and a score on 19 carries (4.7 avg.). His pass-catching looked improved throughout training camp as well, and he caught two of his three preseason targets for 22 yards (11.0 avg.).

Speaking with the media on Thursday, Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich sounded just as pleased with Vaughn as Bowles is. He, too, was vague about the 2020 third-round pick’s role on offense.

Fournette Carrying The Brunt Of The Backfield’s Workload Early

The Bucs have been focused a lot on running the football in its first two games of the season. In their season-opening 19-3 win over the Cowboys, the Bucs ran the ball 33 times for 152 yards (4.6 avg.). Then, in last week’s 20-10 win over the Saints, their ground game was much less effective, but they still ran it 30 times for 72 yards (2.4 avg).

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But even with such an emphasis on running, it’s largely been Leonard Fournette taking on much of the workload. Fournette ran 21 times for 127 yards (6.0 avg.) against Dallas and 24 times for 65 yards (2.7 avg.) against New Orleans. Over two games, he also has four catches for 19 yards (4.8 avg.) on six targets. So, is 49 touches over two games sustainable? The veteran running back isn’t worried about his workload, he said this week. 

Tampa Bay’s coaching staff doesn’t seem worried about burdening Fournette with so much work, at least not as of now.

“It’s been a lot, it’s been a lot early. Two tough ballgames,” Leftwich said. “The thing with ‘Lenny,’ you trust him so much in [those] ballgames – it’s tough to take him out. It’s tough to take him out of the ballgame because he [does] so many things well. He does so many things well and you can trust it in those environments – in those types of environments.

Like I said, ‘Lenny’ had one of his better games here as a ‘Buc’ last year – the stats won’t show that, nothing will show that – but we know as we watched tape, what we asked him to do… That was an A+ game by Leonard Fournette. We’re just happy to have someone so multiple that can do so many different things for us. It’s a blessing to have ‘Lenny,’ but we do have to work more guys in to give more guys more opportunity, understanding it’s a long season.”

Bucs May Look To Distribute More Touches To Other Running Backs

Bucs RB KeShawn Vaughn – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As good as Fournette looks through two games and as fine as he is with the workload he’s been given, it’s not hard to sense that both Bowles and Leftwich are aware that they can’t continue to run their starting running back as many times as they have. Yes, he’s a three-down back, but keeping him fresh for later in the season will be key, especially if the Bucs plan to make a run at the Super Bowl.