RADIO
Will Bucky Irving start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he returns? Aidin Ebrahimi breaks down the Bucky Irving return timeline and fantasy football outlook.
Bucky Irving caught many NFL fans and fantasy football managers by surprise in the 2024 season. He was the PPR RB8 from Week 8 to Week 18, and finished his rookie campaign with 1,514 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns.
Irving had a similarly hot start to the 2025 season, as he was the PPR RB9 before suffering an injury in Week 4. Former RB1 Rachaad White has been the team's starter since Irving went down, with Sean Tucker getting some touches as well.
Will Irving be the Buccaneers' starting running back when he returns? Let's dive in.
Holiday Special! Save 50% on any Premium Pass using discount code THANKS. Win more with our DFS, Betting and Season-Long Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! GAIN ACCESS
Will Bucky Irving Start For The Buccaneers When He Returns?
Bucky Irving worked hard to dislodge Rachaad White in 2024, as he started to get more touches than White in the second half of the season, and especially the final four games, in which Irving had 81 touches compared to White's 34.
1st and goal? Nope
2nd and goal? Nope
3rd and goal? Nope
4th and goal? NopeSAINTS BALL.
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/nvJOrmfTon
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 26, 2025
This led to Irving officially becoming the team's starting back in the 2024 playoffs, getting 19 touches to White's three in their Wild Card loss to the Commanders.
This trend continued in the first four games of the 2025 season, as Irving started every game and had 90 touches to White's 31. However, Irving's injury after Week 4 presented a golden opportunity for White to get his starting spot back.
White, who is chasing an extension in the offseason, looked solid in Weeks 5 and 6, as he racked up 157 yards and scored three touchdowns while getting 38 touches.
However, he failed to provide a spark for the Bucs in their Week 5 loss to the Lions and had a nightmarish performance against the Saints in Week 6, as he was stopped for no gain on three consecutive runs on the one-yard line.
When the Bucs found themselves in a similar situation at the Saints' one-yard line later in the game, White did not get a single opportunity, as Sean Tucker got touches on second and fourth down, with the latter resulting in a touchdown.
Tucker hasn't done much to establish himself in the Bucs' rushing game, putting up 72 yards and two touchdowns on 26 touches in the last four games.
It's clear that Irving is still Tampa Bay's RB1 as he recovers during their bye week.
Bucky Irving Fantasy Football Outlook
As a rookie, Bucky Irving became the first Buccaneers running back since the late Doug Martin to rush for over 1,000 yards. He's also the fifth Bucs RB to have achieved this feat since 2000, with the other RBs on that list being Martin, LeGarrette Blount, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, and Warrick Dunn.
BUCKY IRVING 72-YARD TD
PHIvsTB on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/a4mwpvFFUz
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
It's obvious that Irving is a special talent, and he's getting closer to returning in Week 10 after missing four games and getting another week of rest this week during the bye.
The Bucs did not place him on Injured Reserve when he initially went down, which means they didn't expect him to miss any time after the bye.
Irving and the Bucs will face off against several weak rushing defenses, such as the Bills (31st in fewest rushing yards allowed), the Saints (22nd), the Falcons (21st), and the Dolphins (28th).
Other opponents, such as the Patriots and Cardinals, have allowed over 30 receiving yards per game to running backs, and Irving's ability as a receiver could help him have big fantasy performances against them.
Mike Evans' injury will force the Bucs to rely on their rushing attack even more, and with the team expected to move on from Rachaad White after this season, the team will rely heavily on Irving.
As soon as Irving returns, which could be Week 10, he'll be a must-start fantasy running back.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Tyrone Tracy Jr., Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Kareem Hunt, Woody Marks. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 9. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 9 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 9 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Tyrone Tracy Jr., Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Kareem Hunt, Woody Marks. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 9.
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.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 9 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 9 (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 9 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 9 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Tyrone Tracy Jr., Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Kareem Hunt, Woody Marks compared to others:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
