For the Tampa Bay Buccaners, the “Title defense” project at NFC South will once again be launched in September. At the start of the season, however, the NFL team will have to do without an important cornerstone of its offensive.
As reported, among other things, “ESPN”, offensive Tackle Tristan will miss the start of the new season. A knee injury forces the Left Tackle to take a long break.
According to matching media reports, Wirfs underwent an operation on the right knee on Tuesday. There he had already injured himself in the previous season. So far he has trained with a rail on the knee in the offseason, but after a few setbacks, however, Wirfs decided to have an operation.
Now the 26-year-old will very likely go into the new season on the Pup (Physically Undle to Perform). This would mean that it can only be used automatically from week five.
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NFL: Do not replace it
The failure, however short it may be, will leave a hole on the offensive line of the Buccaners for a few weeks. It is known that the position of Left Tackles is probably the decisive factor on the offensive line. And Tristan Wirfs is now one of the best in his field.
In 2020, the Bucs brought him to Tampa Bay with the 13th pick in the NFL Draft. In his rookie season he protected Tom Brady and won the Super Bowl with the Bucs. At that time, Wirfs was still used as a right tackle. It was not until 2023 to the left side. In the past four years he has been on the Pro Bowl every time, three times he made the leap into the all-project team.
Last year, the Buccaners rewarded him with a lavish contract. Wirfs signed for another five years and receives $ 140 million for this period, of which $ 88 million are guaranteed.