The Bucs got some great news on Wednesday as running back Bucky Irving returned to practice. Irving suffered a shoulder and foot injury in the team’s Week 4 loss at Philadelphia and has missed practice ever since – in addition to the last five games.

Tampa Bay elected not to put Irving on injured reserve after the loss to Philadelphia and head coach Todd Bowles listed him as week-to-week.

On Monday, when asked about Irving’s status for this week, Bowles said that it was the shoulder injury more than his foot injury that remained problematic when it came to his recovery.

“We’ll see if he can take a hit,” Bowles said.

The Bucs had a walk-through practice on Wednesday and won’t have a regular practice until Thursday, and it is unclear if Irving will be able to play against the Bills in Buffalo on Sunday.

Bowles addressed Irving’s participation during Wednesday’s walk-through.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

“It was a walk-through,” Bowles said. “He was limited today; we’ll see what he does tomorrow and Friday. It was good to have him back out there, and it’s the first step to work his way back.”

Bowles said that the team will not practice in pads this week, so they will have to test his shoulder in other ways prior to clearing him to return to game action.

“No, we’re not going to be in full pads,” Bowles said. “He’s going to have to [take a] hit at some point. I mean, he’s lifting and everything, he’s running, but it’s a progression and we’ll see how he does.

“I would like to see him practice and run tomorrow before I make any of those decisions. It was a walk-through so I can’t really say, ‘He looked like this or he looked like that.’

Bucs Have Missed Bucky Irving’s Big-Play Ability

Although Bucky Irving hasn’t been as productive as a runner this year with just 237 yards on 71 carries (3.3 avg.) without any rushing touchdowns, the Bucs have missed his big-play ability and knack for generating big, explosive runs. Irving, who was last year’s fourth-round pick, had eight runs of 20 yards or more during his rookie season, and finished with a team-high 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns.

This season, Sean Tucker has Tampa Bay’s longest run by any running back, which was an 18-yard dash last week against the New England Patriots’ top-ranked run defense in the 28-23 loss in Week 10.

“He’s a change-of-pace back,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said of Irving. “I don’t know how much he changes us with our front five hurting, so that’ll be tough. He’s a different pace, he’s a different type of back than Rachaad [White] and Sean, obviously. He gives us some juice – not that they don’t. They all give us juice in certain areas, but if we can have some of our starters back, it always helps.”

Bucs RB Bucky Irving and Eagles CB Cooper DeJean – Photo by: USA Today

Irving is the second-leading rusher on the team behind Rachaad White’s 325 yards this season, but he is leading all Buccaneers running backs with 19 catches for 193 yards (10.1 avg.) and two touchdowns, including a career-high 72-yarder versus the Eagles in Week 4.

“I had to tell him to slow down a little bit,” Mayfield said. “I know obviously he’s trying to get back. He’s a guy that loves to be on the football field and we love having him out there. Whenever he’s ready we’ll get him in there. He looked good today, but it’s just good having Bucky’s energy out there.