The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping to get healthier by the minute. After back-to-back losses, they’ll be looking to avoid going down to 6-5 after their matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12.
However, a major concern for them is the running game, where they’ve been missing star running back Bucky Irving since Week 4. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that they’ll receive good news about him anytime soon.
When Will Bucky Irving Return?
A combination of a subluxation of his shoulder and a sprain in his foot put him on the sidelines for the last six games. Last week, he was a limited participant in all three practices.
However, facing the Buffalo Bills, he was noticeably absent from the lineup. However, given the direction he was trending, many believed a return was imminent, sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, that optimism might not come to fruition.
Franchise icon Rondé Barber confirmed that the game against Los Angeles wasn’t when the team was going to get their lead running back in the lineup. “Bucky is not going to be back on Sunday Night Football,” Barber said during the latest episode of his show on WFLA-TV.
As he went on to reveal, Irving’s ailing shoulder is not ready to take a hit. His absence has been a major factor for the Buccaneers, who have fallen from a 3-0 start to a 6-4 record in short order.
The 42nd running back on PFSN’s RB Impact, Irving was a diamond in the rough find for the organization as a fourth-round pick who immediately exploded for 1,122 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season.
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His absence has been felt all across the offense this year, as Tampa Bay ranks 17th on PFSN’s Offense Impact. Given the talent that the roster holds on paper, that number sounds ridiculously low.
However, the plethora of injuries that have ravaged the locker room has been too much for the franchise to overcome. In Irving’s absence, the duo of Rachaad White and Sean Tucker has handled a majority of the backfield duties.
White currently ranks 21st on RBi, but after a 105-yard rushing performance and two touchdowns from Tucker, offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard believes the latter has earned a bigger workload moving forward.
#Bucs OC Josh Grizzard said that Sean Tucker has proven that he deserves more carries at running back pic.twitter.com/jb7LraaOtB
— PewterReport 🏴☠️ (@PewterReport) November 20, 2025
“I think what Sean has proven is that he deserves more carries from the time that he’s playing more with Buck out, and he’s gotten more carries essentially each week, and I expect that to continue,” Grizzard said about the Buccaneers’ running back situation.
That might be as close to a guarantee as you can get for what the game plan might look like against the Rams.
