There is no margin for error left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Saturday evening at Raymond James Stadium, as Baker Mayfield and Co. will close their 2025 NFL regular season with a Week 18 matchup for all the marbles against the Carolina Panthers.
Never mind the fact that if their other NFC South rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, beat the heavy underdog New Orleans Saints on Sunday, it will not matter if the Bucs beat the Panthers because by virtue of tie breakers, they will be out of the postseason. The Bucs have to forget all about that and finally do what they should have done last week, two weeks ago, three weeks ago, and four weeks ago and beat an inferior opponent.
After the Bucs lost to the Panthers for a third straight NFC South defeat and then inexplicably fell to the tanking Miami Dolphins, they sit at an even 7-9 with Carolina and, even if they win and make the playoffs, the over arching narrative around the team and head coach Todd Bowles will be a losing one from where they started the season as (now pretend) Super Bowl contenders.
Is Tristan Wirfs playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
The Buccaneers need all hands on deck, and, to that end, fans are worried that star left tackle Tristan Wirfs, one of the most important players on the team and one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL, could be out on Saturday for this all or nothing matchup.
Wirfs has been hobbled with injury over the past couple of months, and, in total, the five time Pro Bowl offensive tackle has only played in a literal career low 11 games so far in the 2025 season. Well the good news is that on Saturday against the hungry Panthers defense, Wirfs will get to make it 12 games for Mayfield as his blind side protector.
On the Buccaneers official injury report, Wirfs, who was hobbled by toe issues, was not listed as an officially designated injury for the first time in a while. He has been practicing, and the former first round pick will be a full go to play for Tampa Bay in a game they can not afford to lose.
Wirfs did miss the game against the Dolphins despite playing against both the Panthers and Falcons, but that was just a blip on the radar for him. What cannot be a blip on the radar is Wirfs himself, and a fully healthy Wirfs will be expected to be a blanket and perfect in pass protection to give Baker every chance possible to score a W against his former employers.