peyton barber.jpg

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Peyton Barber runs for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016.

(AP Photo)

The NFL's Thursday night game could present another opportunity for former Auburn standout Peyton Barber to show what he can do in the pros.

An undrafted rookie, Barber started the season on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad. He was quickly elevated to the active roster because of injuries, but didn't carry the ball until the fifth game of the season.

On Oct. 23, he ran 12 times for 84 yards and his first NFL touchdown in a victory over the San Francisco 49ers. But last week, he carried the ball only once in an overtime loss to the Oakland Raiders.

When the Buccaneers host the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night, Barber will be expected to have a bigger role than he did just four days ago.

When asked during his Tuesday press conference if Barber would have a heavier workload, Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter answered: "Probably going to happen."

That's because the Buccaneers' top three running backs are out of the picture.

Doug Martin ran for 1,402 yards for the Bucs last season. But Tampa Bay's No. 1 ball-carrier hasn't played since the second game of the season because of a hamstring injury, and he's been ruled out for Thursday's game.

Charles Sims, Tampa Bay's intended No. 2 running back, is on injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury in the fourth game of the season.

Jacquizz Rodgers stepped up to run for 324 yards in Tampa Bay's previous three games. But he suffered a foot injury against the Raiders and won't play against Atlanta.

That leaves the Buccaneers with Barber, Antone Smith and Mike James at running back.

"We've had a lot of guys (hurt), that's for sure," Koetter said. "I've never been hit this hard at one position. But no one is feeling sorry for us on the outside, and we're not feeling sorry for ourselves on the inside. The guys that we have coming up, we expect them to go out there and play and play well."

During his Tuesday press conference, Koetter answered, "Not sure about that" when asked which running back would start.

"We'll be playing more than one halfback," Koetter said.

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Smith signed with Tampa Bay on Oct. 17. The former Falcon has played in 66 NFL games, but he's never carried the ball more than four times in any of them.

James spent two seasons on the Bucs and was with the team in the preseason. But he got hurt and was let go. Tampa Bay signed him off the Detroit Lions' practice squad on Tuesday.

"When you have three guys who have been here short-term, other than Peyton, the rookie, your roles aren't very clearly defined right now," Koetter said. "So we're trying to patch it together one week at a time until we get some reinforcements back."

Koetter said his confidence level in Barber was "strong."

"If a guy's here, he's good enough," Koetter said. "So now it just comes down to game-planning, how we look at Atlanta. Then when you get in the game, you don't know what adjustments they're making either."

The Falcons lead the NFC South with a 5-3 record. The Bucs are tied for second in the division with the New Orleans Saints at 3-4. Tampa Bay defeated Atlanta 31-24 in the season-opening game on Sept. 11.

The teams kick off at 7:25 p.m. CDT Thursday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. NFL Network will televise the game.