After re-signing with the Bucs on a one-year deal, running back Chase Edmonds is currently penciled in as the top backup to Rachaad White. For Edmonds, last season served as an opportunity for him to get back on track after splitting time between the Dolphins and Broncos in 2022.

With a year in Tampa Bay under his belt, he is ready to help energize the offense next season.

Chase Edmonds Is Focused On Coming Back And Proving His Worth
It is no secret that the Bucs had a season filled with ups and downs in 2023. After starting hot with a 3-1 record, the team cooled off after the bye week, dipping to 4-7 before a late-season resurgence saw them win five of their last six games and clinch a playoff spot. Chase Edmonds went through a similar trajectory in how the year played out for him.

It was in just the second game of the season against the Bears that Edmonds went down with a Grade 2 MCL sprain that kept him out of action until Week 8. After coming back from the injury, he failed to get much going on the ground, but like the rest of the offense, he started to come into his own during the team’s playoff push. The veteran running back spoke to the media on Thursday about how things changed over the final stretch of games and his mindset this offseason.

“The last five or six games, it started to click, and I think we really clicked as a whole offensive unit,” Edmonds said. “You know, those were our best games as an offensive unit, outside of the Carolina game to clinch the playoffs. I felt we were really getting our rhythm going, we were getting our momentum going, we were starting to find our identity, how we wanted to call plays, and how we wanted to really orchestrate plays off of plays.

“I’m just going to pride myself on getting my explosiveness all the way there, and whatever the team does [with the] draft, or bring someone else in, I don’t really care. Focus on yourself, focus on your job. But, that is my plan, to really come back with a spark, come back with a different level of acceleration, different level of juice, and just prove myself right. I know I have it, I know I can do it, [and] I’m still capable of about 2-3 more good years in this league. I’m a hell of a player, a hell of a teammate, and I’m going to go out to prove that.”

Tampa Bay may look to add another back in the room this offseason, but Edmonds remains grateful to be running it back.

“It’s just a blessing,” Edmonds added. “Extremely grateful to the Bucs to be back and try to build on something that we started last year. Last year for me, obviously was kind of like a reset year for myself – just to try to get back on track, playing how I know I’m capable of playing, how I played earlier in my career. I knew that after the season ended, we just all wanted to try and get back together and build on something special that we started [that] really nobody gave us a chance to do at the start of the season.”

Chase Edmonds Is Ready To Handle His Business
Throughout the first six seasons of his career, Chase Edmonds has been the right-hand man to plenty of talented running backs, from David Johnson, Kenyan Drake, James Connor, and now Rachaad White. Outside of 2021 when he eclipsed 100 carries, Edmonds has carved out a niche in the NFL as a change-of-pace back. Someone who can come off the bench and give the starter a breather while also being versatile and ready to make something happen at a moment’s notice.

This is a role that he has taken in stride to have success and he knows that when he’s in the game, the offense cannot lose a step.

“Early on in my career, man, my rookie running backs coach always said something that always just stuck to me and I tell younger guys,” Edmonds said. “Everybody has ambitions in this league, everybody wants to be great in this league, and everyone is talented in this league. But at the end of the day, in order to maximize your time in the NFL, you have to figure out what your role is and you just have to maximize your role.

“I realized that going into year seven now, the best part of my game is as a change-of-pace back. When a defense is a little bit tired, I come in as a spark. I use my juice, my acceleration. I use my quickness to provide explosive plays for the offense. That’s something I just pride myself on.”

Edmonds proved that down the stretch by running for a season-high 40 yards on eight carries, including a 15-yard dash in a 29-25 win at Atlanta, and four carries for 27 yards, including a season-long 21-yard jaunt at Carolina in the season finale.

“I know that maybe on the second or third drive when Rachaad gets tired or something like that, I’ve got to come in and there can’t be a beat missed,” Edmonds said. “It’s got to be a 10-15-yard play, whether it’s a screen play, whether it’s a change of pace getting out of the backfield doing a choice route, whether it’s a toss play to get on the edge.

“I pride myself in my third-down protection, keeping the quarterback upright. Allowing myself to give confidence to Baker [Mayfield] when he’s in there like, ‘I know Chase is going to handle his business. I know if it’s a corner blitz, safety blitz, that it’s going to be taken care of.’”

Heading into 2024 at full health, Chase Edmonds is ready to be a spark for the Bucs’ offense. If he continues his strong play from late last season, the Bucs could have a sneaky productive duo in the backfield.