{"id":287286,"date":"2026-06-11T19:02:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=287286"},"modified":"2026-06-11T19:02:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:02:05","slug":"bucky-irving-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/06\/11\/bucky-irving-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"Bucky Irving Returns to the Practice Field For First Time Since Shoulder Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">Bucky Irving returns to the practice field for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in February, providing a positive sign for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019 offense ahead of training camp.<\/p>\n<p>Irving was spotted participating in individual drills during voluntary OTAs. He took handoffs and caught passes from <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/06\/08\/baker-mayfield-pressure\/\" target=\"_self\">quarterback Baker Mayfield<\/a>. Irving did not participate in team drills.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bucs RB Bucky Irving is doing drills today at OTAs for the first time this offseason since his shoulder surgery. <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/GoBucs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GoBucs<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wzoQ3r1wxw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/wzoQ3r1wxw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kyle_burger\/status\/2065094734117322824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, Bucky\u2019s done a lot of things,\u201d Buccaneers <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/07\/todd-bowles-leaves-door-open-on-buccaneers-core-veterans\/\" target=\"_self\">head coach Todd Bowles<\/a> said Thursday. \u201cWe expect him to be ready for the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Bucky Irving Returns to the Practice Field for the First Time Since Shoulder Surgery<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB9T3zBswc\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 4284px; aspect-ratio: 4284\/2856;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>On May 26, Bowles&#8217; comments regarding Irving&#8217;s participation status raised some eyebrows when he said the team expected him back &#8220;in the summer or fall,&#8221; creating some uncertainty about Irving&#8217;s health with the season approaching. Later, sources confirmed that the Buccaneers expected Irving to return by the start of training camp in late July.<\/p>\n<p>It was Irving\u2019s first active participation in Tampa Bay\u2019s OTAs. He underwent <a  href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/bucky-irving-had-offseason-shoulder-120315357.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shoulder surgery<\/a> in February to address ongoing instability stemming from the shoulder injury he sustained early last season.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bucky Irving back in action: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aQHF2rQSL1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/aQHF2rQSL1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; River Wells (@riverhwells) <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/riverhwells\/status\/2065088906530267576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Bucky Irving missed seven games last season. He suffered ankle and shoulder injuries in Week 4 against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/eagles\/\" target=\"_self\">Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When Irving returned to the field in Week 13, he struggled. He averaged 3.4 yards per carry and did not rush for more than 100 yards in a single game.<\/p>\n<p>It was a stark contrast from Irving&#8217;s rookie season in 2024, when he played in all 17 of the Buccaneers&#8217; games and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. That season, he became the first Buccaneer since 2015 to rush for 1,000 yards.<\/p>\n<h3>Tampa Bay&#8217;s Offense Is at Its Best When Irving Is on the Field<\/h3>\n<p>Irving\u2019s decline in production and availability had a significant impact on Tampa Bay\u2019s offense. In 2024, the Buccaneers ranked third in the NFL with 5.3 yards per carry. That number dropped to 4.1 yards per carry in 2025, ranking 26th in the league. Tampa Bay\u2019s rushing-yard total fell from 2,536 to 1,947.<\/p>\n<p>Other factors contributed to the Buccaneers\u2019 rushing offense decline. Tampa Bay\u2019s offensive line, which remained healthy for most of 2024, was battered by injuries in 2025. Guard Cody Mauch suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. Starting <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/20\/bucs-todd-bowles-labels-tristan-wirfs-selfish\/\" target=\"_self\">tackles Tristan Wirfs<\/a> and Luke Goedeke missed multiple games, and guard Ben Bredeson suffered a season-ending injury in Week 14.<\/p>\n<p>Former offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard struggled in his first season as a play-caller after Liam Coen left to become the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/jaguars\/\" target=\"_self\">Jacksonville \u00a0Jaguars<\/a>\u2019 head coach. Tampa Bay\u2019s scoring average decreased from 29.5 points per game in 2024 to 22.4 in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>However, the impact of Irving\u2019s absence was noted by Bowles in November.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe could make you miss in the open field and in the hole. So, he got extra yards because he was more jittery and one-cut and still full speed. There are all different kinds of running backs. The other two are very good, as well, but Bucky could make one or two guys miss and make you miss, and make the O-line look a little better. So we miss that type of dynamic, I think, when you talk about our offense,\u201d Bowles said.<\/p>\n<p>Irving\u2019s return to the practice field is a welcome sight for the Buccaneers\u2019 offense as it tries to return to its high-scoring ways.<\/p>\n<p>Next week, June 16-18, Tampa Bay will hold its mandatory minicamp, which will wrap up OTAs. After that, the Buccaneers will not return to the practice field until training camp begins in late July.<\/p>\n<p>Irving\u2019s level of participation will continue to be a key storyline throughout the summer.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Image: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bucky Irving returns to the practice field for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in February, providing a positive sign for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019 offense ahead of training camp. Irving was spotted participating in individual drills during voluntary OTAs. He took handoffs and caught passes from quarterback Baker Mayfield. Irving did not participate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5859,"featured_media":287310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,6431,29],"tags":[32307,7331,224],"class_list":["post-287286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-nfl-teams","category-buccaneers","tag-bucky-irving","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers-news","tag-todd-bowles"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5859"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287286"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287313,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287286\/revisions\/287313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}