Bucky Irving

Bucky Irving had a sophomore season to forget. He was limited to 10 games because of injury - and he was wildly inefficient. He posted the 4th-lowest rushing success rate, finishing third-worst in YPC (3.4). The second-year RB scored one rushing TD in 2025.
Even with Rachaad White all but gone in free agency, Todd Bowles' other favorite RB, Sean Tucker, might continue to rear his ugly head again near the goal line in 2026. Not to mention, Kenneth Gainwell will also be vying for targets after signing with TB in free agency. Irving probably wasn't the same guy returning from injury as the first four weeks of the season; he was extremely productive, averaging 15.6 PPG. But after his return, he just had 10.2 PPG playing in a broken Bucs' offense.

Buccaneers beat reporter Scott Reynolds suggested the team may want to reduce Bucky Irving's workload to allow him to be more effective this season.

Fantasy Impact

Reynolds notes that there's a reason why Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has called Irving and Kenneth Gainwell 1A and 1B. The Bucs gave Gainwell a two-year, $14 million deal in free agency and he has reportedly impressed new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. Gainwell emerged in a big way with the Steelers last season and it appears he could be in line for another similar role in the backfield for Tampa Bay. Irving is expected to be good to go in training camp, but he missed time earlier in the teams offseason program recovering from a shoulder injury.