{"id":146848,"date":"2025-06-21T06:39:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T06:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/146848\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T06:39:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T06:39:13","slug":"can-buccaneers-bucky-irving-squash-sophomore-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/146848\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Buccaneers’ Bucky Irving Squash Sophomore Slump?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can Buccaneers’ Bucky Irving Squash Sophomore Slump?<\/a> originally appeared on Athlon Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rise of Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving<\/a> from backup to bonafide starter in his rookie season was a sight to behold.<\/p>\n

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Initially starting behind Rachaad White, Irving proved with each touch that he was the star of the running back room, and eventually usurped White as the starter for Liam Coen.<\/p>\n

A rookie season that ended with 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns, along with 47 receptions for 392 yards, paints the picture of a fourth-round pick exceeding expectations in a big way.<\/p>\n

But as we turn for 2025, the big question facing Bucky is, can he do it again?<\/p>\n

ESPN’s Mike Clay thinks so. In his 2025 projections, Irving continues his ascension to be one of the best backs in football.<\/p>\n

Irving’s 2025 projection: 1,227 yards, eight touchdowns, 53 receptions, 409 yards, three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 29, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (7) carries the ball against the Carolina Panthers during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium.\u00a9 Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

So 1,636 all-purpose yards and 11 combined touchdowns isn’t too bad for your second act in the NFL.<\/p>\n

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That would likely equate to Pro Bowl buzz for Bucky and further establish his standing as the clear No. 1 back behind Baker Mayfield.<\/p>\n

With his bruising, yet speedy running style, plus his ability as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, Irving is the very definition of a dual-threat back, and one that new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard will be leaning on in 2025.<\/p>\n

Yes, this is just a projection, but there is nothing stopping Irving from hitting the numbers Clay put up, and if he does, it would mark quite the start to an NFL career for a running back who just 12 months ago wasn’t even the starter.<\/p>\n

No sophomore slump here, folks.<\/p>\n

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Related: Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield Named ‘Borderline Star’ In QB Tiers<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Buccaneers’ Mike Evans Credits Baker Mayfield For His Return<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can Buccaneers’ Bucky Irving Squash Sophomore Slump? originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The rise of Tampa Bay Buccaneers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[1842,211,312,260,7,28341,9303,6,9342,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-146848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-baker-mayfield","9":"tag-buccaneers","10":"tag-bucky-irving","11":"tag-carolina-panthers","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-kim-klement","14":"tag-mike-clay","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-rachaad-white","17":"tag-tampa-bay","18":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","19":"tag-tampabay","20":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114719985896601652","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}