Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said RB Kenneth Gainwell’s usage is getting closer to the “1A, 1B” usage the team envisioned when signing him.

05 November 2026

Gainwell saw 25 carries in a run-heavy game against the Falcons in Week 8. Bowles said, “I think we finally got to where we’re utilizing Kenny more and more, and that’s kind of the 1A, 1B we were talking about when we first signed him.” Gainwell saw 50-percent of the snaps for the first time all season last week and now has back-to-back weeks of at least 14 carries. He is still seeing low utilization in the passing game and game script has certainly played a role in his recent role, but it is notable that Bowles mentions the Bucs envisioned a 1A/1B backfield pairing between Bucky Irving and Gainwell. Despite Bowles’ comments, fantasy managers should anticipate Irving operating with the majority of backfield touches, like he did from Weeks 1-6. We will still have to see Gainwell’s usage in a more neutral game script to feel confident about him as a fantasy option moving forward.