There was no player on the Bucs that had a rookie season quite like running back Bucky Irving had. One would probably have to go back to the 2020 season with first-round pick Tristan Wirfs and second-rounder Antoine Winfield Jr. to compare the type of impact a rookie had for the team the way Irving’s 1,000-yard season did in Tampa Bay in 2024.
The fact that Irving was a fourth-round pick and went on to make the All-Rookie team stands out even more. Simply put, Irving was sensational, and he didn’t even begin the season as a starter. Gradually, week by week, he stole the show – and ultimately more carries from Rachaad White. Irving ended up the season with 1,122 rushing yards, becoming the first Buccaneer to record over 1,000 rushing yards in over a decade. He also had eight rushing touchdowns along with 47 receptions for 392 yards receiving.
Irving quickly became a fan favorite with everyone in Raymond James Stadium constantly chanting “Bucky! Bucky! Bucky!” at home games after his big runs. It would be easy for anyone to feed into his own hype the way that Irving surprisingly burst onto the scene last year. He is one of the top weapons this year on an offense that is projected to compete to be the best in the league.
Bucky Irving Has Moved On From His Sensational Rookie Season
But that’s not how Bucky Irving is wired. In his eyes, last year is in the past and he’s putting it in the rear view mirror. This season Irving hasn’t accomplished anything yet. He’ll have to do it all over again. So in this moment, all he can do is figure out how to get even better.
“I feel like once you always start something new, it’s going to have to slow down for you a little bit,” Irving said. “When I first got thrown in, the game was moving pretty fast for me but yeah, as I just settled down and let the game – and just think about it like, ‘it’s just football.’ And not think about too [many] other things that are going on out there. But yeah, just always going back and looking at the film and looking at things that you can get better at and improve in and also not getting satisfied and stuck in last year, because it’s a new year.
“Nobody cares about what you did last year. It’s, ‘What can you do for me now?’ But I’ve always been that guy that pretty much never gets stuck in the past and always [am] where my feet [are] and work hard every day.”
Bucky Irving And Bucs Get An Important Advantage
A big advantage that the Bucs – and Bucky Irving specifically – will have is that the entire starting offensive line from last season returns in 2025. Tampa Bay re-signed left guard Ben Bredeson this offseason, while everyone else is under contract. It’s pretty rare in today’s NFL to see an entire unit come back, especially a group that was responsible for one of the best rushing attacks in the league.
In a day and age where star players seek all the glitz and glamour attached to their success, Irving wants none of it. He would rather Tampa Bay’s offensive line get its contributions noticed rather than anything he accomplished because without the O-line he doesn’t get have the level of success he had as a rookie.
Bucky Irving is a different kind of star player in more ways than one, and this is just another example of it.
“We have all [those] guys returning but just being able to have trust in those guys,” Irving said. “Like you always say, when I come up here, I don’t talk about myself. I talk about the O-line because without those guys, none of these things are possible. So just being able to give credit to those guys every chance that I get, I’m going to do that.”
