Buccaneers cap off year of extensions with a record-setting deal for Tristan Wirfs
Offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs might not have been named the best left tackle in the league by the AP last year. He might not even have been among the top two or three tackles in the recent NFL Top 100 list – an atrocious oversight by his peers. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made him the […]
Offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs might not have been named the best left tackle in the league by the AP last year. He might not even have been among the top two or three tackles in the recent NFL Top 100 list – an atrocious oversight by his peers.
However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made him the very best that something that surely matters to Wirfs and all other linemen in the game: money. According to multiple outlets, Wirfs and the Bucs reached an agreement on a massive five-year contract worth more than $140 million.
It's a historic deal on multiple fronts. It's the largest contract ever signed by a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. It's also the largest contract ever signed by an offensive lineman in NFL history. A pretty nice two-fer there for the big guy.
The move caps off a "hold in" (if you really want to even call it that) that Wirfs had been going through during the first week. Wirfs had stayed away from padded drills, but participated in a number of other things while he awaited his deal, which had been reportedly getting close for days.
Now, the Buccaneers are done with doing what general manager Jason Licht has said he loves doing: rewarding his own home-grown talent with contract extensions. Mike Evans and Antoine Winfield, Jr. were extended. Even former Buccaneer draft pick Jordan Whitehead, who Licht admits he hated letting leave for the Jets, came back home with the team. Although not home-grown, Baker Mayfield still had a heck of a season in pewter and red last year and earned a big extension from the Bucs in March.
So, as they say, the whole band is back together. We'll see if they can make a run at a fourth straight divisional crown and a deeper run in the playoffs in 2024. They surely have plenty of well-compensated difference makers to pull it off.
