Bucky

Irving

Well, that’s not exactly a fantastic update for the injured running back. Previous reports indicated Irving would not take part in organized team activities but was expected to be a full-go for camp, a timeline that now looks to be in question. The nature of the noncommittal quote from head coach Todd Bowles raises serious concerns for Irving in a fantasy setting, particularly for a team that went out and added another pass-catching, change of pace specialist in Kenneth Gainwell this offseason. Sean Tucker demonstrated a clear knack for short yardage situations in 2025, potentially sending this backfield into a maddening three-headed timeshare come September, with Irving’s lack of practice time potentially earning him a slow start to the regular season. More questions than certainty await early best ball and season-long drafters this May.

Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud describes Irving as “the chair” of what looks to be a running back by committee with Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker. We’ll see what the price range settles in at for Irving, but it’s hard to imagine him as a top-40 pick based on the past week of updates. The story quotes OC Zac Robinson as saying, “Shoot, one guy might get this amount the next week. They might end up balanced, feeling the hot hand, and we’ll see where it goes.”

FOX’s Greg Auman adds that he expects Irving to be “full go” when training camp begins. This probably isn’t overly concerning just yet. It was reported that Irving had offseason shoulder surgery after playing through the issue late last year. If Irving’s absence continues to drag on as the team gets to training camp, the Kenneth Gainwell train will begin to gain steam again in 2026.

Gainwell and Irving “can kind of match each other in certain ways with what they can do in the pass game,” Robinson said during a Tuesday press conference. Robinson praised Gainwell’s veteran leadership and professionalism and said he was a key addition to the Tampa offense this offseason after he caught 73 passes for 486 yards and three touchdowns with the Steelers in 2025. Only three running backs — Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Bijan Robinson — had more receptions than Gainwell last season. Irving has been a highly efficient pass catcher during his time with the Bucs. Last year he ranked second in yards after the catch per reception and fifth among backs in yards per catch. While Irving is widely expected to be the team’s nominal lead back, Gainwell could be relevant in PPR leagues this year.

According to the site, Irving’s “recovery and rehab are not expected to significantly impact his offseason preparation.” Irving missed multiple games due to a foot and shoulder injury last season, but it was the shoulder injury that kept him sidelined until his return in Week 13. With Rachaad White likely leaving via free agency, Irving could be in line for a bell cow role for the Bucs in 2026. The third-year back rushed for 173-588-1 last season but averaged 20.3 touches per game when active. Hopefully a full offseason to recover will have him back to his rookie form after his efficiency numbers dwindled late last season.

“There’s not a run concept that he can’t run,” Robinson said. It was certainly a disappointing 2025 season between injury and an inability to stick on the field in the red zone, but Irving appears to be entering 2026 as the lead back for an offensive coordinator who believes in him. And with Rachaad White a free agent, to boot, it seems likely that Irving is primed for a 2026 rebound.

Robinson joined Atlanta two years ago when the team hired Raheem Morris as their head coach. He had previously worked under Sean McVay for five years, working his way up to pass game coordinator for the final two. Robinson started off strong, getting Atlanta to 13th in points scored despite Kirk Cousins struggling in his first year as a Falcon. The switch to Michael Penix in 2025 didn’t go as planned and the team cratered to 24th in scoring. The hope for Baker Mayfield and company will be that Robinson was simply dealt a bad hand in Atlanta. The hiring bodes particularly well for Bucky Irving. Atlanta ranked top-10 in rushing yards in both of Robinson’s seasons with the team.

Irving didn’t find a ton of running room against Carolina with a long gain of just nine, but he did enough to keep the chains moving in a game where the Buccaneers ran the football 42 times against 22 passes. It’s a typical effort for Irving this year, as he just hasn’t been able to break off the big gains after his impressive rookie campaign. Irving is a good bounceback candidate for 2026, and could play a playoff game next week if the Saints beat the Falcons.

The story of the last few weeks has been a backfield committee and stumbling offense for Irving. He had an inefficient day, turning nine carries into 19 yards, with a longest run of 12 yards. On the bright side, he was finally involved in the passing game, catching five passes for a mere 14 yards. The closest Irving got to scoring was a third quarter drive where he was tackled inside the 10-yard line on a red zone carry, though he was dropped for a loss on the next carry and subsequently substituted out of the game. Irving has not seen high leverage usage in the Bucs’ backfield committee, but still leads the way in snaps and opportunities. He will close out the season as a low-end fantasy RB2 in a battle for the division against the Panthers in Week 18.

Fantasy managers got a pure rushing day from Irving as he did not see a single target in this game, plodding his way to 3.7 yards per carry. He broke out a long run of 12 yards, but was otherwise kept in check by the Panthers’ defensive front. Irving is the early-down back, but has lost red zone snaps to Rachaad White and Sean Tucker as well, capping his fantasy ceiling. He led the trio with 40 snaps and 15 routes run, but did not have fruitful production. The closest he came to scoring was a red zone rush where he was tackled at the one-yard line in the first quarter. Irving has had a frustrating output for the fantasy playoffs and should be considered a fantasy RB2 for Week 17 against the Dolphins.