BuckyIrving

News: 6 hours agoHead coach Todd Bowles said Monday that the Buccaneers "will try and lessen the load" on Irving following their Week 10 bye, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Spin: Though he hasn't shown any signs of wearing down while he's averaged a healthy 4.9 yards per tote through the Buccaneers' first nine games, Irving has already amassed 167 carries -- fourth-most in the NFL -- and would be on pace for a career-high 315 over the course of a 17-game schedule. Given the success they've found on the ground in recent weeks, the Buccaneers could continue to embrace a run-first attack, but expect Irving to cede a bit more work to backups Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker as Tampa Bay aims to keep their top back healthy for the long haul.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Irving enters his third season coming off a disappointing 2025 campaign in which he missed seven games and struggled with efficiency. After averaging 5.42 yards per carry and producing 1,514 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, Irving fell to 3.40 YPC (fourth worst among qualified RBs), 865 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. He failed to clear 4.2 YPC in any of his 10 outings and had zero carries inside the opponent's 5 yard line. The 24-year-old remains positioned as the lead back in Tampa Bay, but the combination of his small frame (5-foot-9, 192 pounds) and the arrival of Kenneth Gainwell (not to mention Sean Tucker at the goal line) suggest he might play a lesser role moving forward. Irving should be valued as a back-end RB2.