The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had awful injury luck this season. After starting the year without Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, and Tristan Wirfs on offense, the injury situation has only gotten worse with Mike Evans and multiple offensive linemen missing extended time.
However, one of the biggest blows came early in the year when star running back Bucky Irving went down in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles. While he finished the game, he has been sidelined ever since. Now, some shocking developments might confirm the worst fears of the fan base.
Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving Gets Brutal Update
A combination of a subluxation of his shoulder and a sprained foot put him on the sidelines after Week 4, as he did not see the field for an extended period of time while the Buccaneers fell to 6-4.
Last week, it seemed like things were finally moving in the right direction when he was seen back on the field in practice, albeit in a limited capacity. While head coach Todd Bowles confirmed that he wasn’t going to suit up against the Buffalo Bills, a return against the Los Angeles Rams wasn’t completely ruled out.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like things are heading in that direction. The first update, regarding their Week 12 game, came courtesy of franchise icon Ronde Barber. A Hall of Famer with a legendary career throughout the 2000s, he is now an analyst with the team and very plugged in.
During “The Ronde Barber Show,” he confirmed that Irving was going to miss the clash against Los Angeles, claiming that his shoulder wasn’t ready for that kind of a hit. However, the five-time All-Pro also recently had an alarming comment about Irving’s status, hinting that he’s not even close to returning.
“Bucky is getting better, but I don’t know [that] we’re going to see Bucky anytime soon. I’m not at liberty to say why. Bucky’s got to get right with Bucky,” Barber said. “Is it the shoulder? Yes. Is it the ankle? [He’s] probably better from that now. But there’s a lot of things that have to go right for Bucky in the short term, and I don’t know if we’re going to see him.”
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Similar reports are starting to come in from other corners of the NFL universe as well. Most notably, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio revealed that he’s heard some concerning inside information about Irving.
“I’m not so sure Bucky Irving is going to be back this weekend based upon something I heard when we were in Philadelphia. I’ll tell you off-air what I heard,” Florio told his co-host Chris Simms.
“I want to be careful. It just underscores the very real existence of inside information because it’s something that probably shouldn’t be out. But I don’t think he’s going to be back anytime soon. It definitely is more information than what’s in the injury report.”
Reading between the lines, fans immediately started to worry about Irving’s mental health and wished him well. Shortly after, Tampa Bay Times beat writer Rick Stroud confirmed that Irving was struggling with his mental health, but his sources disputed that he’s not close to playing.
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“Bucky Irving needed some mental health support from what I can gather following his injury and I’m told he’s ‘trending toward playing in the very near future,'” Stroud wrote. “It won’t be Sunday, however. Not sure I agree with Florio’s claim he doesn’t expect Irving ‘anytime soon,’ speculation.”
The fact that Barber also came away with the impression that Irving won’t be playing anytime soon lends credence to Florio’s report.
However, the Buccaneers fans received some positive updates on Friday. “Bucky Irving won’t play vs. the Rams but could be back soon. He was reeling a bit after being injured for the first time in his career and missing football, but is feeling better and is on the road to recovery,” wrote Pewter Report on X.
Moreover, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles also gave an update on Irving’s status on Friday. He said that the running back is “trending up” to play in the near future and mentioned that Irving “didn’t handle” his injury “well” after getting hurt.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles said Bucky Irving will not play against the Rams but is “trending up” to play vs Cardinals next week. Says he got hurt and “didn’t handle it well..” but doing fine. pic.twitter.com/oeh8uvYaxV
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) November 21, 2025
Last year, Irving was the fourth-ranked player on PFSN’s RB Impact metric, as he broke through as a fourth-round pick with 1,122 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. This year, he hasn’t been able to provide that kind of production for Tampa Bay.
With the team in free fall with their record, they need some stability in a big way. The duo of Rachaad White and Sean Tucker has done an admirable job filling in for Irving so far.
Now, it remains to be seen if offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard will have to rely on them for the foreseeable future to get the offense humming.
