Few players — if any — in NFL history can match what Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs has done in his 1st 7 seasons.
It’s what he does next that could truly put him among the NFL’s greatest players of all time.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon recognized as much when he put Wirfs on his list of the NFL’s “True Franchise Players” teams can build around in 2026 — the highest-ranked offensive lineman on the list.
“On a similar Hall of Fame track (to Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell) is Wirfs, who has been a first- or second-team All-Pro three times in six seasons and has just seven holding penalties in his entire career,” Gagnon wrote on July 15. “Sewell was PFF’s top-graded right tackle in 2025, while Wirfs was the No. 1 left tackle with a 92.7 rating. Sewell and Wirfs have been responsible for a grand total of five sacks since the start of 2024. We rank (Wirfs) one spot ahead of (Sewell) because the jury is still out on Sewell at left tackle.”
Tristan Wirfs Coming Off Career-Worst Season
Wirfs, 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, is coming off the worst season of his career.
Not only did he miss a career-high 5 games, but the Buccaneers went 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the 1st time in 7 seasons since Wirfs was taken in the 1st round (No. 13 overall) of the 2020 NFL draft.
All of that came 1 season after Wirfs made NFL history with his 3rd NFL All-Pro selection in 4 seasons.
From Buccaneers.com in January 2025: “Wirfs becomes the first player in the history of the award to earn the recognition as both a left tackle and a right tackle, previously earning the first-team distinction as a right tackle in 2021. Wrapping up his fifth NFL season, Wirfs has garnered four Pro Bowl selections (2021-24), two Associated Press first-team All-Pro selections, a second-team All-Pro selection (2022) and was a member of the PFWA All-Rookie Team (2020), in addition to starting on Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl LV Championship team in his rookie season.”
Bucs Made Wirfs NFL’s Highest Paid OT in 2024
In August 2024, the Buccaneers signed Wirfs to a 4-year, $140.6 million contract, with $88.24 million in guaranteed money. It made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
“The Buccaneers announced the five-year extension Thursday,” wrote ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “The team did not disclose the value of the deal but confirmed that Wirfs received the largest deal for an NFL offensive tackle and the largest in Buccaneers history. Wirfs, a three-time Pro Bowler, was in the final year of his rookie contract and slated to play under the fifth-year option that paid $18.24 million this year. He now is contractually tied to Tampa Bay through 2029.”
Before the contract was signed, Bucs’ general manager Jason Licht told a Tampa radio station he thought Wirfs should be the highest-paid offensive tackle in NFL history.
“I was on with WDAE talking about Antoine (Winfield) at one point, saying, ‘Hey the guy deserves to be highest-paid (safety),’ and I’d say the same thing for Tristan,” Licht said. “So, we’re working very diligently to see how we can do that, you know, so it can help both sides, as well, so it doesn’t hurt our future so we can still continue to win, but we can reward him.”
Bucs’ $140 Million Superstar Tops List of NFL’s ‘True Franchise Players’