Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell are splitting the Bucs backfield

Bucky Irving was supposed to be the guy in Tampa. As a rookie in 2024 he ran for 1,122 yards and 8 touchdowns on 5.4 yards a carry, third-best rookie mark in NFL history behind only Adrian Peterson and Clinton Portis, and added 47 catches for good measure. That's a workhorse profile. So when the Bucs went out and gave Kenneth Gainwell a 2-year, $14M deal in free agency, with $9.83M guaranteed, it raised eyebrows -- why pay real money for a complementary back if Irving's your bell cow?

The answer is starting to show up in camp reports. According to Sleeper's NFL desk, citing reporting from The Athletic's Rick Stroud, the Bucs have "a bunch" of packages designed to get Gainwell and Irving on the field together, not just splitting series.

That's not exactly a shock given what Gainwell just did in Pittsburgh. He was voted Steelers team MVP for 2025 after piling up 1,023 scrimmage yards and 7 total touchdowns on a career-high 73 catches, becoming the first running back to win that award since Le'Veon Bell. A back who can do that in a receiving role is exactly the type Zac Robinson would want mixing into passing downs alongside a runner like Irving.

Robinson himself isn't hiding how much he values Irving, either. "Bucky is a stud," the Bucs OC said, praising his balance, footwork and versatility in both the run and pass game and calling him "an explosive play waiting to happen." That's not the language of a coach planning to bury his best back in a straight platoon.

Still, the numbers reported so far -- roughly 60/40 in Irving's favor -- are enough to spook the fantasy world, especially after Bleacher Report ranked Irving just 30th among running backs league-wide. FantasyPros flagged that most of the fantasy community is fading Irving in drafts right now, even as some analysts argue the discount makes him a buy.

None of this means Irving's job is in danger -- Robinson's comments make clear he still sees him as the engine of the offense. But a real 60/40 split, especially if Gainwell keeps siphoning passing-down work the way he did in Pittsburgh, changes Irving's touch volume enough to matter for real football and fantasy rosters alike. How Tampa actually deploys these two once the games count is the thing to watch all preseason.