As training camp gets underway for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one notable name will be absent from most of the action. All-Pro offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs will be reporting to camp but offseason knee surgery will limit what he’ll be able to do.
Wirfs is too important to rush back before he’s ready, which is one of the reasons the expectation is he’ll begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. It’s not an ideal situation, but isn’t a total nightmare scenario — that would be a world in which he doesn’t play at all.
Missing the first four games of the season is tough, especially considering what the schedule looks like. If Wirfs is unable to play, which is what it’s looking like, he’ll miss games against Houston and Philadelphia.
It’s a tough stretch for the Bucs to be without one of their best players but it’s not something head coach Todd Bowles is too concerned about.
Todd Bowles comments on Buccaneers not having Tristan Wirfs to start the season
Bowles spoke with the media and finally dove into some real comments about the possibility of starting the season without Wirfs. It was a textbook Bowles response, but one that was oddly comforting given the circumstances and stakes.
Here’s what Bowles had to say:
“Unfortunately it’s one of our best players. But we’ve been without Mike [Evans]. We’ve been without Chris [Godwin]. We’ve been without Vita [Vea]. We’ve been without [Calijah] Kancey. We’ve been without Winfield. We’ve been withoutguysand gotten through. We even played without right tackle Luke [Goedeke] last year and we had to have [Justin] Skule, so this will be a situation for Heck or someone else to step up at tackle and hold the fort til he gets back.”
He’s not wrong, although winning without Wirfs is a lot easier said than done. Tampa Bay has faced adversity like this before, losing both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans at the same time for a stretch in the middle of the season and still managed to win the NFC South.
It’s worth noting, however, that the Bucs lost all four games during that period of time.
Wirfs is a key cog on offense, and is critical to the success of Baker Mayfield. For all the important pieces the Bucs have, as Baker goes so goes the team’s chances of winning and not having Wirfs won’t make reaching a positive outcome any easier.
The Bucs are built to survive, though. The team has navigated back-to-back seasons in which horrific losing streaks should have derailed things but didn’t, which suggests the right leadership is in charge to help again.
That’s the heavy lifting that Bowles’ quote is starting to do, and the Bucs will need every ounce of strength to get through a stretch where Wirfs isn’t on the field.
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