Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving underwent surgery earlier this year to repair a shoulder injury that held him off the field for multiple games in the 2025 NFL season. Now, Irving is full-go as he prepares to take the field for his third professional campaign. When Irving entered the league as the Buccaneers' No. 125 overall draft pick, one of the biggest knocks on him as a prospect was his slight frame.
But according to Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield, the 24-year-old running back has put on some serious muscle this offseason. He put on a lot of muscle, but still shifty as ever," Mayfield told reporters. "And so, proud of Bucky, and that surgery sucks.
"A lot of the same things routine every single day that you're itching to just get out there and do what you want, but not able to. And so he's done a great job rehabbing and coming back from that. And then I think he's looking really good right now." Mayfield expects this added muscle to help Irving in the pass-protection game.
"I think his tracks when it comes to the run game, protection-wise, I think his knowledge of what we're trying to get done in the pass game has come a long way," Mayfield added. "So he's taken another big step we were looking for him to do.” The Buccaneers will open up their regular-season schedule with a Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13.
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