Bucky

Irving

Irving was listed as a limited participant in the Bucs’ Wednesday walkthrough. He has been dealing with back and hip injuries for a couple weeks and starting out the week limited is a good sign he is continuing to heal. Irving played through the injuries in Week 15 and fantasy managers can expect him to do the same Week 16, barring setbacks.

Irving looked spry against the Chargers, spinning and bouncing away from contact. His low-double-digit fantasy-point results are certainly helpful but his upside remains capped by incumbent dual-threat RB Rachaad White. White out-snapped Irving 6-to-5 in the red zone and 10-to-3 on pure passing downs. Irving is a high-end RB2 against the Cowboys in Week 16.

Irving will give it a go once again, hopefully, remaining setback-free this time around. The highly efficient rusher and receiver should remain in fantasy lineups as a borderline RB1/2 but is clearly playing with some re-injury risk. Sterling Shepard (foot) is also active this week though he is just a WR5/6. The Buccaneers declared S Antoine Winfield Jr., S Mike Edwards, LB K.J. Britt, DL Earnest Brown, TE Devin Culp, G Royce Newman and OLB Jose Ramirez inactive for Week 15 against the Chargers. Winfield’s absence increases the Chargers’ odds of picking up big gains through the air.

Irving’s back injury tightened up on him early in Week 14, forcing him to leave the game. He was listed as questionable to return but never did so. Irving would go on to miss two practices before getting in a very limited session on Friday. The team listed him as questionable at the end of the week. Irving will give it a go, but the risk of an in-game injury is uncomfortably high. He will likely give up more snaps than usual to Rachaad White as well. Irving was on track for a weekly RB1 ranking before suffering the back injury. He will spend a week in the RB2 ranks for his date with the Chargers.

Irving was a DNP on Wednesday and Thursday and was not spotted at the media portion of practice on Friday. Regardless of what his practice status may be to close out the week, Bowles said Irving will be questionable for Week 15’s game against the Colts, making his status one to monitor over the weekend and potentially up to 90 minutes before kickoff when inactive are announced. If Irving can’t play, Rachaad White will step in as the team’s RB1 with Sean Tucker serving as his backup.

Irving has now missed two straight practices and is trending on the wrong side of playing in Week 15 against the Chargers. Head coach Todd Bowles said Irving needs his back “to loosen up” if he hopes to have a shot at playing this week, so we’ll see if any progress is made on that front come Friday. If he’s unable to play, Rachaad White would profile as a RB2, while Sean Tucker could have some upside as a streamer in deeper leagues.

Irving aggravated his combination hip and back injury in Week 14 and should be considered questionable to play in Week 15 against the Chargers. He is a highly volatile RB1/2 if active.

Come feel old with us, Bucky. There was no MRI done on Irving last night per Jenna Laine, which is a good sign. But it seems like Irving’s status will be very practice-dependent this week. He’d be on the RB2 line against a strong Chargers defense if he can play, but his status appears to be very tenuous right now.

Irving left in the first half with the back issue and was listed as questionable to return. He returned to the sideline after halftime with a heating pad on his back, seemingly trying to get back in the game. His return never materialized and it’s safe to assume he is done for the day. Irving ends the week with four carries for three yards and a catch for 15 yards. His status for Week 15 versus the Chargers is obviously in doubt now.

Irving entered Sunday listed as questionable with back and hip injuries. The back issue seemingly flared up early in the game and he was pulled in the second quarter. Irving was spotted on the sidelines without his helmet before receiving the questionable designation. Rachaad White will take over as the primary back for Tampa Bay if he can’t return. Sean Tucker should also see an uptick in snaps.