Gainwell (hip) does not practice on Wednesday

Irving was absent from Thursday’s sessions with an official “rest” designation, allowing fantasy managers to breath a collective sigh of relief after the veteran back has morphed into a borderline workhorse in recent games. Managers can likely continue forward with Irving in their starting lineups as an upside RB2 against the Falcons.

Gainwell missed Wednesday’s session with the hip issue. He will likely be listed as limited today, but that still puts him on track to play in Week 8 against the Falcons. Gainwell racked up 14 carries in a blowout win over the Panthers last week, but that hasn’t been the norm for him. Gainwell is averaging 6.4 touches per game and has topped out at three receptions in a week. He is buried in the RB4 ranks for Week 8.

Tucker’s 46-yard touchdown came with the Bucs already leading 36-6 early in the fourth quarter. He covered more ground on the score than he had rushed for all season heading into Week 7. Six of Tucker’s carries came in the fourth frame of a blowout. Although he has proven he will mix in for the occasional 1-2 yard vulture TD, Tucker is a distant third on the depth chart behind Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell, and is not much of a hold in 12-team leagues.

Gainwell was not targeted in the passing game, but that’s because Baker Mayfield attempted only 11 throws. That in turn was due to the fact that Tampa road paved Carolina on the ground as the Panthers committed four turnovers. It’s why Gainwell rushed for a season-high 88 yards after never perviously reaching 20. He was still out-carried 24-14 by Bucky Irving, who found the end zone twice as Sean Tucker hit pay dirt once. We are sure this is a formula the Bucs would like to replicate moving forward, but it is not going to be doable most of the time. It does at least make Gainwell a slightly more realistic FLEX option heading into Week 8 against the Falcons.

The two-score day on the ground was somehow the first of Irving’s career. He led the way as the Bucs rolled up a ridiculous 258 yards rushing in a stunning road clobbering of the Panthers. That means Irving ceded plenty of work to Kenneth Gainwell and a little to Sean Tucker, but everyone got home as the Bucs simply dominated on the ground. Irving’s scores came from four and one yards out, meaning he had the goal-line advantage on Tucker while the game was still in doubt. It was a really strong performance, and a nice bounce-back effort after a rough Week 6. This figures to remain an up and down offense and rushing attack, but Irving has proven to be a high-end RB2 more weeks than not. That will include for Week 8 against the Falcons.

As is typically the case with ill players, Irving is good to go for this week’s game. He upgraded to full participation today after getting a limited session in on Thursday. The Buccaneers’ No. 1 running back has been a volatile producer this season, yet even with last week’s flop, he still totaled 21 touches. That type of workload keeps him firmly in the RB2 ranks.

The Buccaneers’ No. 1 running back is on track to play in Week 7 against the Panthers. The offense is expected to be led by Baker Mayfield (thumb), who will play with a protective plate on his hand to prevent re-injury. Irving should be good to go this week and can be treated as a high-end RB2, as usual.

Tucker should be back after missing Week 6’s loss to the Steelers. He doesn’t offer much fantasy value of his own, but he does occasionally plunder goal-line work from Bucky Irving. Expect him to be a thorn in Irving’s side again this week.

Players missing time because of an illness this early in the weekend almost always get cleared to play by Sunday. We expect no difference from Irving. Coming off his third 20-touch game of the year, Irving remains a high-end RB2 for his Week 7 date with the Panthers.

Irving was bottled up on nearly every attempt, with the Steelers’ defensive front simply winning the battle in the trenches far too often. On the bright side, Irving out-carried Kenneth Gainwell 19-2 and saw three targets to Gainwell’s one. The role was there. The production was not. That role was also bolstered by the absence of Sean Tucker, who missed today’s game with a quad injury. Irving will remain in the RB2 mix for Week 7 versus the Panthers, but Tampa Bay’s grizzly offensive environment will prevent him from cracking the RB1 ranks.