The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' running back depth chart is about to get more crowded.
Bucky Irving is supposed to return to practice at full throttle this week to get back from injury on Sunday in Week 13. Sean Tucker and Rachaad White remain healthy, too.
This could get tricky for fantasy football managers.
Irving was the guy who entered the season as an early-round fantasy draft pick. He was a star in 2024 and seemed likely to repeat much of that play in 2025.
But when Irving got hurt, the backfield opened up. White got the first crack, and was the most obvious waiver claim given he had previous starting experience.
Tucker started to get picked up, too, as he took more action away from White.
In Week 11, Tucker had a three-TD game against the Buffalo Bills, and he was the more active RB on Sunday night despite the Bucs getting blown out by the Rams.
An Irving return changes things greatly.
The expectation would be that eventually Irving is the lead back again. But will that happen right away?
It'd be hard to start any of Irving, Tucker or White in Week 13. If they're all healthy, and the Buccaneers are still figuring things out, that's not ideal.
They'd also be hurt if Baker Mayfield is out with his left shoulder injury, but that's still to be determined.
For now, it's complicated. Don't drop any Buccaneers RBs yet. But probably don't plan on starting any this week, either.
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