It wouldn’t be surprising if the Bucs made a move before the trade deadline to help boost a team that has lost three out of their last four games. Outside of exchanging draft picks, is there anything else that the Bucs have to offer? Turns out they have a running back that might be in play.

According to Matt Lombardo from Heavy.com, running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn is a player worth watching at the trade deadline as the Bucs are reportedly making him available. Vaughn is in his third season with the Bucs and hasn’t played an offensive snap yet. He was even inactive for the first three games of the year before getting a special teams role.

History Of Vaughn With The Bucs

Vaughn has 62 rushing attempts for 289 yards and two touchdowns in 26 regular season games. He also made nine receptions for 60 yards and a score. He got valuable experience late last season and even started the last game of the regular season. That was highlighted in Week 15 when Vaughn had a breakout game at Carolina with seven rushes for 70 yards and a touchdown. The score came on a 55-yard run in the first quarter.

Bucs RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn – Photo by: USA Today

In the 2021 finale, he ran 10 times for 29 yards and a touchdown along with two receptions for 12 yards as the starter. The following week in the Wild Card playoff round against the Eagles, Vaughn got the start again and faired better by rushing 17 times for 53 yards and a rushing touchdown while also recording two receptions for nine yards in the 31-15 win.

With the emergence of rookie Rachaad White in recent weeks, Vaughn has become more expendable. It’s been a two-man backfield between Leonard Fournette and White as Fournette receives around 65% of the snaps and White gets about 35. When Giovani Bernard was healthy, Vaughn was fourth on the depth chart.

Bucs Coaches Very Complimentary Of Vaughn

Despite all of that, the Bucs coaching staff has spoken very highly of Vaughn when there was a thought he could potentially get more playing time.

“I think Ke’Shawn had a great preseason,” head coach Todd Bowles said in Week 3. “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.”

“Everything I’ve asked of Ke’Shawn – from the beginning of the summer, I said, ‘Hey, these are things you’ve got to work on’ – he’s gotten better at,” offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said. “He’s gotten great with the ball in his hands, he’s gotten really good with the ball not in his hand. That’s always the key for young running backs – to be good on the grass when you don’t have the ball.”

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

“He’s done that since he got back this summer. ‘Sneak’ has had one of the best camps out of anybody, really – all year, all summer – his summer was great. He had a big improvement. We’ll see what that means – we’ll see what that means going forward – but ‘Sneak’ has done a great job for us.”

As it stands, the Bucs have Fournette, White and Vaughn on the roster with Bernard on IR. They also have Patrick Laird on the practice squad. If the Bucs were to trade Vaughn, it would be Laird, who has experience on special teams, that would most likely be called up to 53-man roster unless Tampa Bay decided to sign another free agent.

The trade deadline ends on November 1, so the Bucs have a little over a week to make a move. Whether Vaughn is involved or not, it does feel like the Bucs need a new addition to them back on track for another Super Bowl appearance.