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Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackle Josh Wells will log his fourth straight start against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16, but it won’t be in the same position he played during the previous three weeks.
Wells will be filling in for injured starting left tackle Donovan Smith, who has been ruled out for their Christmas Day showdown Arizona with a foot injury.
It’s the third time this season that Smith will miss a game due to injury. He was inactive against the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers in September with an injured elbow.
Wells has seen frequent action this season, including when Pro Bowl tackle Tristan Wirfs exited the game November 27 during the Bucs’ 23-17 overtime loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles complimented Wells’ versatility to play both right and left tackle during his December 23 press conference.
“He’s definitely shown his value right there, and that’s what the swing tackle does,” Bowles said. “You don’t want to see that much of it, but he’s stepped in and done a great job for us.”
The Bucs are likely to get Wirfs back into the starting lineup in Week 16, with Wirfs saying during an interview on December 22, “I plan on playing, yes.”
Tristan Wirfs Named to 2023 Pro Bowl
On December 21, Wirfs was selected to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his first three seasons. He is the third offensive lineman in franchise history to notch multiple selections to the Pro Bowl.
Wirfs has been the anchor of an offensive line unit that has allowed the fewest numbers of sacks (19) through the season’s first 14 games. The low sack total is impressive considering the Buccaneers have made the pass attempts (624) in the league.
Wirfs described an offseason moment when he presented his Pro Bowl jersey to his mother.
“Yeah, I think there was a point last year, I was just at my mom’s house and that’s when I gave her my Pro Bowl jersey this past offseason and it was just a really exciting moment just to see her reaction and kind of take a step back and realize the stuff that’s happened these past couple of years. It’s been awesome,” Wirfs said.
During his December 22 press conference, Bucs quarterback Tom Brady praised on his Pro Bowl selection.
“Yeah, he’s done a great job since the day he got here. We all love having him out there with us; it’s been tough not having him out there,” Brady said. “When he’s not out there we all notice it. He’s really learning how to be a real professional and he takes his job seriously. He’s obviously very talented — just his size, his ability to keep people out of the backfield. [He’s] very difficult to go through and he’s very hard to go around, so he doesn’t get beat very often. Very, very, very rarely. Really happy for him, he certainly deserves it. If he sticks with it, there will be a lot more of those.”
2 More Bucs Starters Ruled Out vs. Cardinals
During a press conference on December 23, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles provided updates on two more defensive starters ahead of Week 16 matchup against Arizona.
“Vita [Vea] will be out, Carl [Nassib] will be out, [Jamel] Dean will still be out,” Bowles stated.
This will be the second consecutive game the Bucs will be without Vea and Dean in the starting lineup.
The shorthanded Bucs secondary will have to rise to the challenge against Cardinals’ wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who has hauled 63 receptions for 713 yards and two scores through eight games after serving his six-game suspension to start the season.
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