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Will Bucky Irving start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he returns? John Johnson breaks down the Week 11 Bucky Irving return timeline and fantasy football outlook.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (shoulder) won't play in Week 11. He'll now have missed six total games, and seven weeks, since suffering foot and shoulder injuries sometime around Week 4. In his absence, Tampa Bay's other RBs have stepped up.
The second and third-string RBs for the Bucs are Rachaad White and Sean Tucker, and we've had chances to see what they can do in Irving's absence.
So this begs the question -- what will the roles of each back be when Irving returns? Will Irving's injury issues cause him to lose touches to his backups? What's Irving's fantasy outlook moving forward? Let's dive in.
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Will Bucky Irving Start For The Buccaneers When He Returns?
Yes. There's little doubt that he'll be the RB1 on the depth chart and get the start. But it's worth asking if it makes sense to have him as the team's primary rusher moving forward. This seems ridiculous on the surface, but if we dive into his stats, we can get some insight.
Irving averaged over 5.6 yards per carry in his remarkable rookie season. That total dumped to just over 3.3 yards per carry this season. While Tampa Bay's offensive line has struggled with a few injuries, they've still been above average as a run-blocking unit.
Ay @CutonDime25 I see why you say Bucky Irving remind you of you a little bit. pic.twitter.com/wMxes2qWpn
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 28, 2025
Where Irving really shines is in open space, where he can make defenders miss with his slick moves. He's possibly the shiftiest running back in the NFL. But asking a sub-200 pound RB to be a workhorse rusher between the tackles doesn't make much sense.
The Bucs should explore giving more pure rushing work to Tucker, who's outproduced RB Rachaad White in consecutive weeks. Irving has zero rushing touchdowns to add to his poor efficiency metrics on the ground. He's better suited for the team's best run plays in which the run block scheming gives him lanes to run through.
Bucky Irving Fantasy Football Outlook
None of this is to say that Irving is bad in fantasy. Quite the opposite. But when you look at his fantasy points splits between rushing and receiving, they're quite stark. In four games, Irving scored exactly 72.0 PPR fantasy points. Just 23.7 of those were from rush plays, though.
His 19 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns account for 50.3 PPR fantasy points, though, which averages to about 12.58 per game. That alone is enough to make him a viable RB2. Sprinkle in around 30 rushing yards and he's an obvious must-start every week.
BUCKY IRVING 72-YARD TD
PHIvsTB on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/a4mwpvFFUz
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
Thankfully, in full-PPR fantasy leagues, receptions count for a full point. And in one of the best passing offenses in the league, Irving is consistently involved, and clearly capable of making explosive plays. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has no problem checking it down to him for free yards.
The second-year RB should continue to average right around five targets per game. It's not clear yet if he'll be used much at the goal line -- the Bucs have had no problems with scoring to this point. Maybe they decide to use the bigger Tucker in that role.
But rush TDs weren't a part of his fantasy value anyway. On the current trajectory, he's unlikely to meet his second-round ADP strictly in terms of points per game, but that's not a huge deal. He should be reliable enough to fill in most fantasy teams' RB2 role nicely, though he was drafted in the RB1 range.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 11 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Kimani Vidal, Aaron Jones Sr., RJ Harvey, Rachaad White, Breece Hall, Quinshon Judkins, David Montgomery. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 11. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 11 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 11 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Kimani Vidal, Aaron Jones Sr., RJ Harvey, Rachaad White, Breece Hall, Quinshon Judkins, David Montgomery. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 11.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
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Popular Week 11 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 11 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 11 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 11 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Kimani Vidal, Aaron Jones Sr., RJ Harvey, Rachaad White, Breece Hall, Quinshon Judkins, David Montgomery compared to others:
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