Buccaneers' Bucky Irving: Downplays hip injury

Irving said Monday that he feels much better after he suffered a hip injury on a kickoff return during Sunday's 26-23 overtime win over the Panthers, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It's unclear if Irving sustained the injury on his 20-yard return at the end of the first half, or when he was back deep on two other occasions Sunday. The Buccaneers never formally ruled Irving out for the contest, but he curiously logged just one touch over the team's final three possessions, despite having run roughshod over the Carolina defense for most of the day. He still finished with a career-best performance, carrying 25 times for 152 yards and a touchdown to go with three catches for 33 yards on three targets. While Rachaad White remains involved out of the backfield, he's faded into more of a change-of-pace/passing-down role while Irving has emerged as the clear lead option on the ground. Irving has averaged at least 5.5 yards per carry in each of Tampa Bay's last three games, and so long as the hip issue isn't still nagging him by the time Sunday's game against the Raiders arrives, he'll profile as a must-start fantasy option in nearly every league.