Bucs running back Bucky Irving has missed six games this season. Injuries and being away from his team for the first time in his career have taken a toll.
Bucs running back Bucky Irving has missed six games this season. Injuries and being away from his team for the first time in his career have taken a toll. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]
Bucky Irving struggled emotionally with being hurt and not on the field with his team for the first time in his career after suffering foot and shoulder injuries that has forced him to miss six games, the Tampa Bay Times confirmed.
The issue came to light when Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said that Irving would not return for Sunday night’s game against the Rams in Los Angeles.
“I’m not so sure Bucky Irving is going to be back this weekend based upon something I heard when we were in Philadelphia,” Florio told co-host Chris Simms on Thursday.
“I’ll tell you off-air what I heard. 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.”
Irving has not played since the Sept. 28 game against the Eagles. He returned to practice last week but has been limited ever since.
Receiver Chris Godwin, who hasn’t played since sustaining a fibula injury at Seattle, also returned to practice last week but was a full participant Thursday.
“Yeah, I think that whether it’s Buck or whether it’s Chris, it’s kind of the same thing where these guys haven’t played in so long. … To be able to think that they’re going to go out there and play 50 snaps or 55 snaps would be unfair to those guys,” offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard said. “So, seeing how much they can handle, getting them in there on the plays where we know it’s really critical to that play, let them build their play strength to get their confidence back up, to get back to their top shape.”
But mentally, Irving is believed to have struggled with being injured and away from his team for the first time in his career. His personal support system has also been fractured by the loss of many family members.
Irving, 22, grew up in a home on the south side of Chicago with 13 aunts, uncles and cousins.
His grandmother, Darlene Irving, died the same day the University of Minnesota offered him a football scholarship. Prior to her death, Darlene predicted Irving would play in the NFL.
“One day, I will not be here,” said Darlene, according to a story on Buccaneers.com. “If you keep working hard, you will make it to the NFL.”
In March 2022, Irving’s 15-year-old brother, Jordan “JoJo” Raybon, was shot to death near him home in Hazel Crest, Ill.
As an NFL rookie, Irving rushed for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns, becoming the first running back to eclipse the 1,000 yard plateau since Doug Martin in 2015.
A tireless worker, he has arrived at One Bucs Place by 5:30 a.m., meeting with senior consultant Tom Moore, forging a close relationship with the 87-year-old assistant.
The Bucs are expected to rule Irving out of Sunday’s game against the Rams but it’s likely he plays next week when the Bucs hosts the Cardinals.
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