The countdown to the Bucs’ 2026 season is on. Right now, we’re:

88 days away from Bucs regular season kickoff
58 days away from Bucs preseason kickoff
42 days away from Bucs training camp

In the leadup to training camp, Pewter Report’s Bailey Adams will be diving into storylines for 26 key figures who will be crucial to the Bucs’ success in 2026.

Today, the series continues with running back Bucky Irving. 

26 For ’26: Bucky Irving Bucs Storylines In 2026

Can Bucky Irving Make It Through The Season Without Injury Issues?

Health has been the big storyline surrounding Irving as of late. That was the case in 2025, and that’s been the case into the 2026 offseason, too. A foot injury cost him six games last season, and then a shoulder injury cost him another. He was limited to 10 games in his second NFL season after playing all 17 in his breakout rookie campaign.

That shoulder injury wound up being significant enough for the young running back to undergo offseason surgery, which he still finds himself recovering from as the Bucs work their way through the OTA and mini-camp parts of the offseason program. Irving missed most of OTAs before returning in a limited capacity during the final OTA practice on June 11. He went through warmups with the team for the first time this offseason and took part in individual drills before watching the full 11-on-11 periods.

When the Bucs got mini-camp underway Tuesday morning, Irving followed the same procedure. He warmed up with the team, took some handoffs and caught a few passes from quarterback Baker Mayfield before sitting out the full team periods. That will presumably be the case throughout all of mini-camp, but the expectation is that the third-year back will be good to go for training camp during the last week of July.

So, why provide all of that background? Because one of the main storylines for Irving once the 2026 season begins will be whether he can make it through the season without the injury bug biting. Will Tampa Bay get a full 17 games out of its top running back? Will it be more like 14 or 15? Or will the injury issues become a troubling trend after that fully healthy rookie season?

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There’s solid depth in the backfield for this Bucs team, but they certainly want the best and healthiest Bucky Irving for as much of the season as possible. Can he take on a starter’s workload and survive the season? At 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, he’s obviously a smaller back. But he’s proven he can handle the grind of a 17-game season once already. The hope is that he’ll do that again in 2026, putting the foot and shoulder problems behind him for good.

Will The Bucs Get More Of 2024 Bucky Irving – Or The 2025 Version?

The NFL is very much a “what have you done for me lately?” league, and especially these days, memories can be short. So, it might be easy to forget just how electric Irving was as a rookie in 2024. He carried the ball 207 times for 1,122 yards (5.4 avg.) and eight touchdowns while catching 47 of his 52 targets for 392 yards (8.3 avg.) on his way to a sixth place finish in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.

Irving was the first Buccaneer to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Doug Martin did it in 2015, and he was the first Tampa Bay rookie to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark since Martin did it in 2012. His 1,122 rushing yards were the third-most by a rookie in franchise history. With three 100-yard rushing games down the stretch, he helped the Bucs make a late push to win 10 games and capture the NFC South title for the fourth straight year.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Unfortunately for Irving, the 2025 season was a different story. In addition to missing seven games, he was held to 588 yards on 173 carries (3.4 avg.) and just one touchdown on the ground. He did catch 30 of his 35 targets for 277 yards (9.2 avg.) and three more touchdowns, but it was a far cry from that massively successful rookie season. His yards per carry average dropped from 5.4 yards to 3.4 yards from 2024 to 2025. He went from three 100-yard games to zero. And he was held under 4 yards per carry in eight of his 10 games after crossing that threshold 13 times in 17 games as a rookie.

So not only was Irving less available in 2025 than he was in 2024, but he was also less effective. Part of that could’ve been chalked up to a different offensive scheme under Josh Grizzard as opposed to the one Liam Coen ran in 2024. And perhaps a larger part of it was the health (or lack thereof) of the team’s offensive line. Tristan Wirfs, Ben Bredeson, Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke all missed time in 2025, and the O-line, the offense, the run game and the Bucs as a whole suffered as a result.

That’s where you’d like to think Tampa Bay will get more of the 2024 version of Irving than the 2025 one. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has a great mind for the run game and will run some of the looks that Coen ran when Irving was so successful two years ago. Not to mention, Robinson got so much out of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier during his time in Atlanta, and now he’ll look to do the same with Irving and the Buccaneer backfield.

Combine that with an offensive line that should be back to full strength, and Irving is set up for a return to form in 2026.

How Will The Bucs Manage Bucky Irving’s Workload In 2026?

With his health, effectiveness and the state of the Bucs’ backfield all taken into account, what will Irving’s workload look like in his third season as a Buc? That’s another point of intrigue as the 2024 fourth-round pick leads a slightly rebuilt running back room in 2026.

Irving is the No. 1 guy for Tampa Bay heading into 2026, but it’s been made pretty clear that the team has a 1A/1B situation on its hands rather than a definitive 1-2 punch like it had in the latter part of the 2024 season and for much of the 2025 season (at least when Irving was healthy). Kenny Gainwell is in town now as the 1B to Irving’s 1A, and the veteran is replacing Rachaad White after he left in free agency to sign with the Commanders.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Will the Bucs be cognizant of Irving’s touches in an effort to maximize him, keep him fresh and protect his body from taking too much of a beating, the type that comes with 20-25 carries per game? Will offensive coordinator Zac Robinson ride the hot hand, even if that means going with Gainwell over Irving in some cases? How much will Sean Tucker cut into the backfield’s snap share? How much Pony package will Robinson run? These are all questions that will only be answered as the first few (or several) weeks of the season unfold.

In Irving’s rookie season, he ran 207 times. He crossed over 20 carries in a game only twice over 17 contests, though he did serve as the No. 2 behind White for a lot of the season until getting hot and taking over the bulk of snaps and carries later on. For comparison’s sake, White ran just 144 times. A year ago, Irving ran 173 times despite missing seven games. In the 10 games he played, he surpassed 20 carries in a game twice and had 19 in another. White finished the year with 132 carries, and Tucker had another 86.

So, what does this all look like for Irving and the Bucs’ backfield in 2026? It’ll be fascinating to watch how Robinson deploys his running backs. Is less more for Bucky Irving? With Gainwell in the mix – and especially considering the fact that he’s here on a $7 million-per-year contract – perhaps that’ll be the case.

Catch Up On Previous Installments Of Bailey Adams’ 26 For ’26 Series

Baker Mayfield