{"id":189318,"date":"2026-03-12T22:29:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/189318\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T22:29:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:29:36","slug":"new-tampa-bay-rb-kenneth-gainwell-wanted-to-sign-with-buccaneers-over-steelers-last-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/189318\/","title":{"rendered":"New Tampa Bay RB Kenneth Gainwell Wanted To Sign With Buccaneers Over Steelers Last Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kenneth Gainwell appreciates his one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But if he had it his way, he would\u2019ve been in Tampa Bay a year earlier. Speaking to reporters during his introductory press conference after signing a two-year deal<\/a> with the Buccaneers, Gainwell wanted to fly south last offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great option for me,\u201d Gainwell told reporters via Tampa Bay\u2019s YouTube channel Thursday afternoon.<\/a> \u201cI wanted to be here last year, but I\u2019m happy to be here now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gainwell didn\u2019t expound on why he didn\u2019t sign with Tampa Bay in 2025. Presumably, the Buccaneers didn\u2019t make an offer. Instead, Pittsburgh signed him on a cheap, one-year deal. Gainwell turned in a career year, leading the Steelers with 73 receptions and over 1,000 yards from scrimmage. He returned and covered kicks, too. His well-rounded game made him team MVP.<\/p>\n

He reunites with special teams coordinator Danny Smith and S Miles Killebrew, who reportedly just inked a one-year deal<\/a> with the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n

Gainwell praised Pittsburgh for using him and fellow running back Jaylen Warren well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey put us in great situations for us to both to succeed as a running back,\u201d he said of his year with the Steelers.\u201d [Warren] had a thousand rushing. I had a thousand all-purpose. They both gave us a great situation to go out and be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two became a strong one-two pairing and one of just a handful of Pittsburgh teammates to post 1,000 yards in the same year. Now, Warren will look to do the same with Rico Dowdle, who will sign as Gainwell\u2019s replacement.<\/p>\n

A Mississippi native who played his college ball at Memphis, returning to the South is welcome for Gainwell, who spent the last five years in the Keystone State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy I\u2019m away from it right now,\u201d he said with a smile. \u201cHey, we\u2019ll love this heat too. But at the same time that Pennsylvania cold man, I\u2019m happy I\u2019m from [down] here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay noticed Gainwell this time around. The Buccaneers inked him to a $14 million contract, the biggest payday of his career. Gainwell\u2019s overcome long odds to reach this point. Sitting out the COVID year<\/a> in college after several family members died from the virus. An undersized mid-round selection. Saquon Barkley\u2019s forgotten backup and afterthought 2025 signing.<\/p>\n

Gainwell\u2019s not forgotten anymore. He\u2019ll share a key role alongside Bucky Irving in Tampa Bay\u2019s backfield for a Buccaneers team trying to win its fifth-straight NFC South crown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kenneth Gainwell appreciates his one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But if he had it his way, he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[42341,17988,135,2964,137,136],"class_list":["post-189318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-kenneth-gainwell","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}