After a lengthy absence, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving began to practice last week but was ultimately ruled out for Week 11.
This week, Irving is practicing again and there is renewed hope that he'll finally make his return from a shoulder injury that has plagued him since Week 4.
However, Buccaneers legend Ronde Barber is here to rain on our parade. Barber said on his show on WFLA-TV that Irving is not going to play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams (H/T JoeBucsFan.com).
“Bucky is not going to be back on Sunday night football,” Barber said.
Head coach Todd Bowles said on Wednesday that Irving would ramp up this week with the hope that he would play, but there were never any promises made.
Irving has taken part in each of the last four practices dating back to last week, but he was limited in every session and will likely require a full practice before he can be cleared.
While this stinks, it certainly isn't surprising when you consider just how murky things have been surrounding Irving's injury since he went on the shelf.
It was assumed Irving would be back after missing three games at most because the Bucs never placed him on injured reserve, which would have forced him to miss at least four games. We are now approaching Irving's seventh missed game in a row.
Clearly, the injury is worse than initially thought or Irving suffered some kind of setback that has kept him out longer than expected.
Either way, Week 12 doesn't look like the one Irving returns in and we'll now have to wait and see how things shake out in Week 13.
If Irving indeed sits again, the Bucs may deploy Sean Tucker as their lead back in Week 12 after he was far more effective than Rachaad White last week.
Tucker had more touches, also, garnering 21 to White's 12.
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