Bucs rookie RB’s absence from practice ‘challenging’ – Sports Illustrated

Don’t look now, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a good game. After finishing last in rushing the past two seasons, the Buccaneers have the 10th-best rushing attack in the league, averaging 130.9 yards per game.

The Bucs’ success on the ground nearly hit a snag in Week 8 when Irving appeared on the injury report with a toe injury. After speculation about whether or not he would be able to play, the rookie played through the injury and led the team in rushing with 44 yards. When Wednesday’s practice came around, Irving was again out of practice and listed as not participating. Head coach Todd Bowles was asked after practice if he had any updates on Irving’s health, and he said the trend of Irving missing practices early in the week will likely become a trend for the rest of the season.

“Bucky [Irving] it’s going to be the same as last week,” Bowles said. “He’ll probably practice toward the end of the week, but he’ll probably have that problem all year.”

As much as Irving performed as a rookie, he still needs valuable reps as he grows into his role over the course of the season. Offensive coordinator Liam Cohen was asked what difficulties the lack of a running back has had when it comes to game planning and preparing for the opposition, and he made it clear just how challenging it has been.

“It’s certainly a challenge,” Cohen said. “Do I trust him? He’s here at 5 o’clock every day and he’s doing what he needs to do, but he’s still a rookie who needs reps, who needs muscle memory, the way we do things, your mark, your read, your everything goes into that, so that was definitely a bit of a challenge not being able to have that and it’s not necessarily just some of the ’21’. [personnel] things; it’s more of a simple offense. He doesn’t get those reps, so [it is] a definite challenge. He’s trying to take the necessary steps to make sure he’s ahead of the game plan, but I wouldn’t say it’s easy.”

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To accommodate Irving’s injury, Cohen has installed secondary instruction with the team to try to get him up to speed before game day.

“That’s what we did last week before our Saturday practice there,” Cohen said. “We had one other guide as a unit before that, and that was really a Bucky guide. So we’ll keep doing it and catch up.”

As Irving continues to deal with his toe injury (which sounds like it will be all season), the Bucs will have to find ways to keep him in practice and carefully build his reputation. At the same time, they must ensure that he does not suffer setbacks in the future. The coaches will continue the challenging process of getting Irving up to speed and conducting secondary examinations. However, the results in Week 8 were good, and if the results against the Chiefs follow suit, it won’t be history going forward.

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