Bucky Irving absent Thursday, simple rest day

As Bucs beat writer Greg Auman points out, Irving is on pace for 315 carries this season, which would have been the second most in the league last year. Irving has not missed a game yet this season, but after injuries limited him to 10 games in 2025, it’s not surprising to learn Bowles may want to dial things back a bit. The efficient play of Kenneth Gainwell in recent weeks has also earned him an expanded look, and it should instill a bit of confidence in OC Zac Robinson when asking him to spell Irving in certain situations. With the Bucs now entering their bye week, we will get our first look at how the team plans to deploy its backfield in Week 11 when they visit the Lions.

Irving was held in check for the first three quarters outside of a short rushing touchdown, but broke several tackles to open the fourth quarter on a 25-yard gain. He scored again in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24-24 and now has six rushing scores in 2026. It wasn’t quite the monster effort he produced against the Falcons (27/170/1) the week prior, but still a very strong fantasy day for the 24-year-old tailback. Irving should be considered as an RB1 against the Lions in Week 11 after a bye.

The Bucs became the first team in over 50 years to not complete a pass for an entire game. In turn, Irving was able to rack up a career high in rush attempts. He then turned that into a career high in yards by averaging over six yards per carry. He could have posted even better numbers, but the Bucs put him on ice after his third-quarter touchdown. With the exception of one attempt from Irving, Gainwell saw 18 consecutive rush attempts to close the game. Gainwell wound up running for 140 yards on 25 attempts. To the Bucs’ credit, Gainwell was picking up chunk gain after chunk gain and Irving had already earned a massive workload. Irving failed to hit 100 yards on the ground in any of his first three games. He has since reached triple digits three times in his past four outings. Playing some of the best football of his career, Irving is pushing for an RB1 rank headed into Week 9 versus the Bears.

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.

Gainwell suffered the hip injury while logging a season-high 14 rush attempts in Week 7. The Bucs blew out the Panthers and racked up 49 carries as a team. Bucky Irving would be in line for more work on passing downs if Gainwell is out for Week 8. Sean Tucker could also see an uptick in snaps, though his normal role has very little overlap with what Gainwell does. Per usual, Irving looks like a high-end RB2 this week.

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.

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.