Bucky Irving Week 13 Injury Update: Will His Return Have a Fantasy Football Impact?
Jorge Martin runs down the fantasy football outlook for the return of Bucky Irving from injury in Week 13. Other players also receive injury updates.
Remember Bucky Irving? As he hasn’t played since Week 4 with foot and shoulder injuries, we thought it might be a good idea to give a reminder of what he could mean to the Buccaneers after he returns to the lineup, which is looking like this week. And what he could do for your fantasy lineup when you pop him back in.
Before we get into Irving, we do have a Black Friday sale through 11:59 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 30. Get 40% off a year of FantasyLife+—yes, all the way through next draft season—when you use the promo code BF40.
Bucky Irving Week 13 Injury Update and Fantasy Football Outlook
Last year during Weeks 15-17, Irving helped many people win their leagues with finishes of 12.3, 16.7 and 21.0 fantasy points, respectively. After being a consensus second-round pick this summer, Irving has been absent so long that a fair number of teams might have had their playoff prospects damaged as a result. But if you’re still alive, Irving has the potential to make a positive impact on your lineup if he goes back to a lead role. That might not be automatic.
What’s happened in the Tampa Bay backfield during Irving’s absence has been plenty of Rachaad White early, with Sean Tucker emerging in the past couple weeks. White topped out with 65 rushing yards in Week 6, but he really hasn’t been much of a factor in the running game. Even his work in the passing game has not made a big difference, as he has a high of 30 receiving yards in Week 5. Since Week 7, White has registered just one UR score over 55.
Tucker appeared to be a revelation in Week 11, posting 140 scrimmage yards and 3 scores against the Bills. Last week in a negative game script against the Rams, Tucker managed just 42 yards on 12 carries and only 50% of the rush attempts for the Bucs.
Irving enters into the backfield after a full week of practice, but with a cloudy outlook provided by HC Todd Bowles about how he’s going to be used alongside White and Tucker. In his first week back from injury, Ian Hartitz provided his own projection for how Irving could be used in his return.
The Bucs face the Cardinals, who have allowed over 80 rushing yards to a running back in each of the past four games. On the season they’re allowing 24.5 fantasy points to RBs, which is the seventh-highest mark in the league. On the receiving side, Travis Etienne just posted 30 yards against Arizona, so Irving’s pass-catching chops could come into play this week.
Fantasy Outlook: Our consensus rankings have Irving as the RB21 on the week, with a couple rankers putting him as high as 18. It’s really hard to imagine many fantasy rosters at this point of the season that have two running backs better than Irving, unless they’re in the shallowest of leagues. So if you have him, you’re likely starting Irving. Just understand that many players coming off a long layoff won’t have a heavy workload right off the bat. And with Tucker and White, this could be a dreaded shared backfield.
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Other Fantasy-Relevant Week 13 Injury Updates
We have other players who have injury question marks heading into Sunday action, and here’s a one-liner on each of them:
Aaron Rodgers (Pittsburgh Steelers): HC Mike Tomlin said Rodgers is starting, which is good news for DK Metcalf.
C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans): Stroud returns to the lineup after missing three games in the concussion protocol. He’s QB20 in our rankings.
Daniel Jones (Indianapolis Colts): Jones is reported to have a fracture in his fibula, but appears set to play through it. Practice video showed he was hobbled.
Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): Mayfield got knocked out with a left shoulder injury, but he’ll try to gut it out against the Cardinals.
Jaxson Dart (New York Giants): After missing the past two games with a concussion, the rookie returns to the lineup and a matchup with a tough Patriots defense.
J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings): The second-year QB is sitting with a concussion. UDFA Max Brosmer will start.
Omarion Hampton (Los Angeles Chargers): The rookie was limited all week, but has not been activated from IR.
Trey Benson and Emari Demercado (Arizona Cardinals): Benson was not activated off IR, while Demercado is sitting. Bam Knight is the starter this week against a tough Buccaneers run D.
Drake London (Atlanta Falcons): The stud WR riding a three-game streak with 100+ yards will sit his second game in a row.
Brian Thomas Jr. (Jacksonville Jaguars): BTJ has not played since week 9 with an ankle injury, but looks set to return to the lineup.
Terry McLaurin (Washington Commanders): McLaurin returns to the lineup after playing once since Week 3 with a quad injury. Denver is as tough a matchup as there is for WRs.
Marvin Harrison Jr. (Arizona Cardinals): MHJ is a game-time decision after sitting the past two weeks coming off having an appendectomy. It will be interesting to see how many targets Harrison sees after the two-week emergence of Michael Wilson.
Tyler Warren (Indianapolis Colts): The rookie was downgraded to questionable after coming down with an illness. Make sure to check the 1 p.m. ET inactives to see if he’s going.
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