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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can’t catch a break.
With just one game to go before the return of NFL All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans from a hamstring injury, All-Pro left offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs suffered what is believed to be a sprained MCL in a Week 10 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Wirfs had to be helped off the field in the second quarter after a play in which he was blocking against All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa. He was replaced in the lineup by Justin Skule.
From ESPN: “The Buccaneers believe that All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs suffered a sprained MCL in the first half Sunday against the 49ers, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The three-time Pro Bowl selection and team captain will require additional testing, including an MRI, to determine the severity, the source told Fowler.”
Wirfs is one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL and has played his entire career with the Buccaneers after they selected him in the first round (No. 13 overall) of the 2020 NFL draft out of Iowa.
Wirfs signed a 5-year, $140.6 million contract extension with Tampa Bay in August that included $88.2 million guaranteed — the biggest contract for an offensive lineman in NFL history.
Wirfs Hasn’t Missed Game Since 2022
Wirfs started every game for the first 2 seasons of his career and has only missed time due to injury once, when he missed 4 games due to ankle injury.
Wirfs started all 17 games for the Buccaneers in 2023 and had started the first 9 games in 2024.
The Buccaneers have been plagued by injuries on the offensive side of the ball in 2024. In Week 7, they lost 2 of the best wide receivers in the NFL in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Leading receiver Chris Godwin went down with a dislocated left ankle that will keep him out for the rest of the regular season.
Evans, who is trying for his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season, also went out in Week 7 with a hamstring injury and is expected to come back against the New York Giants in Week 12 following the Buccaneers’ bye week.
Generational Talent on Offensive Line
Wirfs has started his career in the manner that indicates he could one day become the first offensive tackle from the Buccaneers to make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Wirfs was selected No. 13 overall out of Iowa in 2020 and started every game as a rookie as the Buccaneers won the second Super Bowl in franchise history and he made the PFWAA All-Rookie Team.
He’s a two-time NFL All-Pro — making it both times at right tackle — and has made three consecutive Pro Bowls dating back to 2021.
Either Wirfs or Buccaneers’ veteran wide receiver Mike Evans will likely make history for the franchise one day — no offensive player who primarily played their career in Tampa Bay has ever made the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
All of the offensive players to wear the Buccaneers’ uniform who are in the Hall of Fame — quarterback Steve Young, wide receiver Tim Brown and offensive guard Randall McDaniel — never played more than two seasons in Tampa Bay.
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