As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attempt to pull themselves out of yet another midseason slump, a bit of a situation is developing around Bucky Irving that is pulling everyone's attention away from Sunday.
It all started when ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio said on his show this week that Bucky was dealing with something he couldn't say on the air, but that it would keep him from returning "anytime soon".
“I’m not so sure Bucky Irving is going to be back this weekend based upon something I heard when we were in Philadelphia,” Florio said. “I’ll tell you off-air what I heard. I want to be careful. It just underscores the very real existence of inside information. Because it’s something that probably shouldn’t be out. But I don’t think he’s going to be back anytime soon. It definitely is more information than what’s in the injury report.”
That's a pretty bizarre -- and borderline irresponsible -- way to communicate that Bucky is dealing with something more than his injury off the field. Even if it's not as serious as that tease made it sound, it opens the door to inviting reckless speculation that is generally unhelpful on both a football and human level.
It's also worth noting that it's a report coming from an outside source, as the messaging coming from the Buccaneers seems to turn the dial down on the noise that Florio created.
Todd Bowles didn't specifically cite Florio's scandalous non-report after practice on Friday, practice that Irving participated in, but he did offer some clarification on the whole off-field part of the situation.
"He's not going through much off the field. He got hurt, he didn't handle it well because he's been hurt for the first time," Bowles said. "He got a little practice this week and he'll definitely be trending up to playing next week."
Buccaneers give some context, and an update, on Bucky Irving's status
It's been a weird journey throughout Irving's absence in terms of getting crystal clarity about where things stand. His foot injury turned into also being a shoulder injury, and his week-to-week status has turned into him missing every single game since Week 4. If there's one consistent thing about the Bucs, it's how impossible it is to get a straight answer about someone's injury status.
The fact of the matter is we don't know what Irving is going through beyond him struggling with missing games. A common thread throughout various versions of the story is that Bucky missing extended time for the first time in his career has had a negative impact on his emotions.
Remembering that Irving is a human being, that's where the speculation should stop, even if it's being invited by the nature in which that information has come to light.
Furthermore, Bowles offered a contradictory timeline to what has been reported. While Floiro noted that Bucky won't be back "anytime soon", the Bucs are reportedly targeting Week 13's game against the Cardinals for his return.
If that happens, which would mean a return to action in front of a home crowd, it's safe to say the reception to seeing Irving take the field again will be resounding at Raymond James Stadium.