The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense in 2025 has been something of a revolving door, in terms of players coming and going from the lineup due to injuries and recoveries, and that door looks like it will be turning again in Week 13.
It looks likely that running back Bucky Irving, who was often dominant as a rookie in 2024, is set to return to action on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals after a lengthy absence. Irving suffered foot and shoulder injuries in Week Four against Philadelphia, with the latter ailment being the one to keep him out longer than originally expected. Irving has practiced in a limited fashion the past two weeks but this week he will presumably be full-go with the goal of getting him back on the field in Week 13.
"He's going to practice all this week, and if he's well by Friday, he'll play on Sunday," said Head Coach Todd Bowles on Monday.
That's a welcome update for a team searching for some good news after a lopsided 34-7 defeat on Sunday night in Los Angeles, which lengthened the team's losing streak to three games. Unfortunately, the Bucs had to take the bad with the good…or in this case at least the uncertain.
That's what the Buccaneers currently are in regards to the left shoulder of quarterback Baker Mayfield, which was injured in the first half on Sunday night against the Rams. Mayfield sustained the injury early in the second quarter but continued playing. After he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to rookie wideout Tez Johnson, Mayfield headed straight for the blue medical tent on the sideline. He was cleared to return and didn't miss an offensive snap, but then aggravated the ailment when he fell after heaving a Hail Mary on the final play of the first half. Mayfield was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on Monday afternoon to assess any potential damage to his AC joint.
"That's the preliminary thought right now," said Bowles. "He'll have [an MRI] this afternoon. We'll reassess it then. [It is] too early to tell. We'll wait for the MRI. When we come back, we'll assess everything then."
If Mayfield can't play on Sunday against the Cardinals, the Buccaneers will turn to 12th-year veteran Teddy Bridgewater, who completed eight of 15 passes for 62 yards while playing the whole second half against the Rams. That potential switch would mean some changes to the team's offensive approach, as well.
"He's a different quarterback, so schematically, we'll have to do some different things for him to make him feel comfortable within the offense and do a lot of things he likes to do," said Bowles. There are some similar things, but there are also some differences that way to make him more comfortable. He's been here long enough to where if he had to go, we can tweak it the right way for him to be successful."
Perhaps the tiebreaker in the good news/bad news balance on Monday afternoon was Bowles assessment that wide receiver Chris Godwin came out of Sunday night's game in fine shape after playing for the first time since Week Five due to a fibula injury. The Bucs stuck to their plan of limiting Godwin's snap count in his return to action, allowing him to progress gradually to his typical workload. Godwin was on the field for 25 offensive snaps out of a possible 70 against the Rams and saw little action in the second half with the Bucs' down by four scores. Bowles stated definitively that Godwin will see more snaps in his second game back this weekend.
