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When will Bucky Irving return and play? Will Bucky Irving be back again this season? Read the latest Aaron Jones injury updates and return date for Week 6 (2025).
Fantasy managers got unfortunate news after Week 4 when Bucky Irving suffered foot and shoulder injuries that were severe enough to keep him off the field in Week 5.
As time has gone on, we have learned that Irving will likely need more than a week to recover from his injuries and is at risk of missing more time.
When will Bucky Irving return to the field? When can he be back in your fantasy lineups? Read more below to find out.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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- Wide receiver (WR) rankings
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- Defense (D/ST) rankings
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- FLEX rankings
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Bucky Irving Injury Update
Bucky Irving missed Week 5’s game against the Seahawks due to foot and shoulder injuries. There was an initial hope that Irving’s absence would be just one week, but as examinations went on it became clear that the shoulder injury was severe enough to lead to a multi-week absence.
Turns out that Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving’s shoulder injury, which he did not report to the team until Tuesday last week, is more of an issue than his sprained foot, per sources. Irving is dealing with a shoulder subluxation that is expected to sideline him at least two weeks.… pic.twitter.com/HMxBrLTQ4E
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2025
The Buccaneers seem optimistic that Irving will be ready to go in Week 7, but it seems highly unlikely that he will be active for Week 6’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. It will be important to monitor his practice status in case the week off was enough to get Irving onto the field.
Bucky Irving Fantasy Football Outlook
Irving was one of the most efficient running backs in 2024, but has struggled to find the same space this season behind an injury-riddled offensive line. Still, the second-year running back was able to be the RB9 from Weeks 1-4 (18.0 PPR points per game) by offsetting his decreased efficiency (3.3 yards per carry) with high-level volume.
Irving has averaged 17.8 carries and 4.8 targets per game over the first four weeks of the season. The rushing production (237 yards) has been underwhelming but has been obscured in fantasy by his 19 receptions (on 19 targets) for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
Bucky Irving is such a smooth operator as a runner pic.twitter.com/QR1qBDtaYU
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) September 29, 2025
The Buccaneers started 2025 without Tristan Wirfs (who has since returned) and lost right guard Cody Mauch and right tackle Luke Goedeke in the first three weeks. Goedeke is expected to return from his foot injury, which will be a big improvement. Irving’s injury could be a blessing in disguise by giving the offensive line time to get healthy and gel.
Irving was the RB5 in running back usage (34.6%) and tied for the RB3 in touches per game (22.5) in the first four weeks of the season. As long as that doesn’t change, he is a locked-in top 10 running back in fantasy. The ability of the offensive line to remain healthy (and play at a high level) could elevate him into a top-five fantasy running back again.
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 6 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Rachaad White, Derrick Henry, Cam Skattebo, Kenneth Walker, Alvin Kamara, Tony Pollard, Jaylen Warren, Chase Brown. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 6. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 6 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 6 Player Decisions. Need a replacement? Today's focus is on specific players - Rachaad White, Derrick Henry, Cam Skattebo, Kenneth Walker, Alvin Kamara, Tony Pollard, Jaylen Warren, Chase Brown. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 6.
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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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, 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, enhanced search results with data to compare, and 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 circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 6 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 6 (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 6 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Need a replacement? Below are some popular Week 6 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Rachaad White, Derrick Henry, Cam Skattebo, Kenneth Walker, Alvin Kamara, Tony Pollard, Jaylen Warren, Chase Brown compared to others:
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