Tucker was cleared to play Sunday, joining Rachaad White in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019 backfield for a matchup versus the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5. Starting back Bucky Irving was ruled out for Week 5 due to a foot sprain, handing the reins to White and Tucker as the Buccaneers look to rebound from a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two of Week 5\u2019s most notable RB2\u2019s may present a start-sit decision for fantasy owners. Here\u2019s who we think should get the start.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter (22) against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium. \/ Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Carter will likely see opportunities alongside Demercado in Arizona\u2019s rushing attack in a favorable matchup versus the Titans. The veteran back could carve out a significant role in Sunday\u2019s game should he manage to produce early versus a lackluster Tennessee run defense. There is a clear path to Carter seeing a half-dozen carries in Arizona\u2019s backfield, along with looks in the pass game.<\/p>\n
Arizona\u2019s reserve group of backs should manage a solid performance versus the NFL\u2019s 28th-ranked run defense. Carter could emerge as a notable Week 5 sleeper in this favorable matchup.<\/p>\n
After logging just one carry in Week 4, it\u2019s vastly uncertain what Carter\u2019s workload will look like in Week 5. Despite a favorable matchup, Demercado is set to enter Sunday\u2019s game as the RB1 in the Cardinals\u2019 backfield and will likely see the majority of the touches among Arizona\u2019s group of running backs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There will also be another mouth to feed with Bam Knight entering Week 5 listed as the team\u2019s RB3. He\u2019ll likely see at least a handful of carries in relief of Demercado and Carter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Aug 23, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker (44) receives a pass against the Buffalo Bills in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. \/ Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Tucker will see volume behind White in an explosive Buccaneers offense. The third-year back emerged as an efficient RB3 for Tampa Bay, posting 417 yards from scrimmage over 59 touches with three touchdowns. His previous trends of efficient production present a reason for optimism among fantasy owners looking to bolster their lineup\u2019s running back depth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A matchup versus a stout Seahawks defense will be no easy test for the Buccaneers. A highly contested matchup could see Tampa Bay leaning on Baker Mayfield and the passing attack. While Tucker will likely see solid volume, it\u2019s hard to rely on production from a backup in what projects to be a close game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seattle is entering Week 5 ranked as the No. 6 run defense in the NFL through four games, and could continue that trend with Irving sidelined on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Aug 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter (22) against the Las Vegas Raiders during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. \/ Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Though Tucker provides a safer floor of volume, I feel Carter presents a higher ceiling in a far more favorable matchup versus the Titans. Arizona is entering Sunday\u2019s game as a 7.5-point favorite, one of the widest margins of the weekend, and shouldn\u2019t face much resistance in the run game versus a lowly Tennessee run defense. Though he\u2019s splitting carries among a committee, the unit could shine as a whole as the Cardinals look to rebound from a Week 5 loss to Seattle. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Injuries in running back rooms throughout the NFL have raised countless start-sit scenarios for Week 5 of fantasy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-189972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}