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4 potential landing spots for JD McKissic if Washington doesn’t re-sign him

By Jerry Trotta

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: J.D. McKissic #41 of the Washington Football Team dives for the go-ahead touchdown against A.J. Terrell #24 and Duron Harmon #21 of the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 03, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: J.D. McKissic #41 of the Washington Football Team dives for the go-ahead touchdown against A.J. Terrell #24 and Duron Harmon #21 of the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 03, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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You probably read the headline of this article and panicked that JD McKissic rejected a contract offer from the Washington Football Team or that Washington is no longer prioritizing the versatile running back in free agency.

To the best of our knowledge, neither are true.

What we do know, though, is that McKissic, despite being near the top of Washington’s priority list this offseason, is a free agent. The last time we checked, that doesn’t confirm he’ll return to the franchise.

Is there mutual interest in a reunion? Probably. In fact, we’d be shocked if a deal didn’t get done. All we’re saying is that the fan base shouldn’t put it in stone that McKissic will return.

As we’ve seen in the past, anything can happen on the open market and McKissic, entering his age-29 season in 2022, could feel compelled to sign to the highest bidder after he ended the season on IR with a neck injury.

In the event that disaster does strike and McKissic spurns Washington for a better offer, these are some teams to be on the lookout for.

4 potential free agent landing spots for JD McKissic

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tom Brady is the ultimate recruiter and you can bet that he’ll be looking to add a trustworthy running back in the offseason. Furthermore, the idea of competing for a championship while catching passes and receiving handoffs from the consensus greatest football player of all time could resonate with McKissic.

The fit in Tampa Bay is obvious. At this stage of his career, Brady needs a sure-handed dump-off option in the passing game. As the lead back, Leonard Fournette handled this role better than expected in 2021. However, “Playoff Lenny” is out of a contract after this season, as are Ronald Jones and Giovani Bernard.

In other words, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who had just 62 career carries after the Wild Card Round, is the only Bucs RB under contract for 2022.

We expect Tampa Bay to try and re-sign Fournette, but they clearly aren’t ready to take the kid gloves off Vaughn. That could open up a familiar No. 2 role for McKissic, who has thrived as a “backup” throughout his career.

The Buccaneers have a handful of free agents they’ll want to re-sign, including Fournette, Rob Gronkowski, center Ryan Jansen, and potentially Chris Godwin (depending on his market) Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh.

With $22.459 million in cap space and endless loopholes to exploit, though, there should be plenty of leftover funds available to sign McKissic.

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