Charles Sims could be held out today
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are extremely excited about rookie running back Charles Sims, who could become the team’s starting running back by the end of the season. As expected, the Buccaneers activated him off of the short-term injured reserve yesterday afternoon in anticipation of today’s game against the Cleveland Browns, as Doug Martin, who was placed on the trade block, is doubtful this week.
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Even though it seems like Sims should be out there today, ESPN’s Adam Caplan, who has been absolutely on top of Sims-related news, reports that the Buccaneers might wait a week before playing Sims despite activating him yesterday. They probably want to be as prudent as possible with him, especially since they are big fans of his game. The Bucs play the rival Atlanta Falcons next week, and that would be a light matchup for the RB to make his debut and get his feet wet in; the Browns are a tougher defense to make an NFL debut against, especially when just coming off of an injury.
It will be interesting to see if the Buccaneers do indeed decide to let Sims rest another week before rolling him out against Atlanta, but, either way, Bobby Rainey should get the start today and the majority of the touches. If Sims plays, he will have a role, but he’ll likely find himself receiving most of his playing time as a third-down back.