The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, already down top wideout Mike Evans, will be even more shorthanded for Sunday’s 4:05 p.m. ET clash against the Seattle Seahawks, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that second-year running back Bucky Irving is expected to be out Sunday as he deals with a foot sprain.
Irving has had a fairly slow start to the 2025 season as a runner, turning his 71 carries into just 231 yards and no scores — with a 36.6% success rate that ranks fourth-to-last among 48 qualified ball-carriers — but he’s been solid as a receiver, scoring a pair of touchdowns. In his stead, Tampa Bay will turn to Rachaad White and Sean Tucker to handle the majority of the carries. White has been solid this season, taking 23 carries for 108 yards and a score, while Tucker has taken his only carry for two yards but seen some success as a kick returner. Tucker did have a 14-carry, 136-yard, one-score performance in Week 6 last season while White was inactive, but he didn’t factor much into the team’s plans otherwise.
Even though he produced 6.2 yards per carry last season, with that Week 6 game accounting for 28% of his attempts, I can’t trust a guy who’s taken one carry this season to be fantasy-viable, especially since he isn’t much of a factor in the passing game. I do think White is worth a start, though; he started 15 of his 16 games last year and accounted for 613 yards, posting a success rate north of 50%, and his success rate in 2025 has been 56.5%, which would be the 11th-best in the league if he had enough carries to qualify. Plus, since he’s played at least 25% of the snaps in each of the past three weeks, he’s familiar working with Tampa Bay’s offensive line and has chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield. In fact, White has taken just three fewer snaps in short-yardage situations than Irving has, so it’s clear that Todd Bowles trusts him. He’s also a valuable receiver, making at least 50 catches in each of his three full seasons.
White won’t necessarily have it easy against the Seahawks, who have allowed the sixth-fewest rushing yards in the league and are the only team not to allow a rushing touchdown. That’s not a question of low volume, either; Seattle has also held opponents to the seventh-worst rushing efficiency. However, White is still fantasy-viable because the Seahawks have been vulnerable to running backs through the air, allowing the most passing yards to the position, though nearly a quarter of that can be attributed to a single Jaylen Warren catch-and-run in Week 2. Seattle has also ranked fourth-to-last in tackling, and White has already broken five tackles on just 31 touches. It also gets pressure at a high rate, which could incentivize Mayfield to dump it off.
Start or Sit: Start Rachaad White, Sit Sean Tucker.
