Buccaneers' Bucky Irving Fighting Negative 'Slump' Narrative In 2025

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 1:15 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving burst onto the scene in his rookie season as a fourth-round pick, totaling 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns to be one of the stars of Liam Coen's offense.

But as Bucky enters Year 2, he is starting from square one.

With Josh Grizzard, the new offensive coordinator, Irving, who developed a good relationship with "Grizz," who was the passing game coordinator last season, it won't be a completely new scheme.

Still, Irving isn't expecting anything to happen - he's starting a fresh chapter in 2025.

"I'm not a guy that's stuck in last year," Irving said. "I'm just a guy that's willing to put everything else in the past and willing to get better each and every day. Just being able to be better than I was last year.”

But what can he be better at?

“Everything,” he added.

The bar is set high for Irving in Year 2 after his exploits last year, and now, as the starter, the run game is expected to run through him.

Yes, Rachaad White and Sean Tucker will get their lick of the ice cream, but this is Bucky's show in 2025. Still, with everything he's accomplished in his rookie season, not being satisfied with his work, Irving is expecting bigger and better things under Grizzard.

With the Buccaneers seen as an NFC dark horse due to an abundance of offensive weapons, Irving might be one of the driving forces in Todd Bowles' team capitalizing on their talent.

Irving hit the ground running in his first season. What's he got in store for us in Year 2?

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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