NFL free agency rumors: Buccaneers in on Jerick McKinnon
With a void to fill at running back, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are interested in free agent Jerick McKinnon.
A notable part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers across the board underachievement last year was their rushing attack, which finished 27th in the league (90.6 yards per game) with a similarly dismal 3.7 yards per carry. With running back as a priority in free agency after cutting Doug Martin, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Buccaneers are interested in Jerick McKinnon.
Immediately after his season with the Minnesota Vikings ended, McKinnon said he wants to be a featured back. That’s not likely to happen long-term in Minnesota, with Dalvin Cook working his way back from a torn ACL and Latavius Murray around, and the New York Giants look like an easy free agency fit with former Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur now the head coach there.
McKinnon first showed he can function as a lead back during his rookie season in 2014. He started six games in place of a suspended Adrian Peterson and played 11 games total, averaging 4.8 yards per carry with 27 receptions.
After a minimal role behind Peterson in 2015, McKinnon started eight more games over the past two seasons for the Vikings. His yards per-carry average was 3.4 and 3.8 in those respective campaigns, but he also combined to catch 94 passes with nine total touchdowns.
McKinnon is not built like a lead back, at 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds. But that’s an antiquated idea in a pass-tilted NFL, where backs like peak-form Peterson really don’t exist and backs who are versatile carry the most value.
McKinnon is not yet 26 years old (May 3), with just 474 carries in his career and no more than 159 in any season. As a converted option quarterback from his college days at Georgia Southern, it’s also safe to say he’s still getting a full grasp on all the nuances of being an NFL running back.
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If Le’Veon Bell were available, Tampa Bay has the cap space to sign him. But with holes to fill defensively, a turn to McKinnon as a consolation looks like a better fit anyway.