The Tampa Bay Buccaneers notched its first playoff win in nearly 20 years when it beat the then-Washington Football Team, 31-23, in the first round of the 2020-2021 playoffs, but it came with a steep price to pay.

Said price was the loss of starting right guard Alex Cappa, who fractured his ankle during the first half of the game.

On the surface, it appeared to be a big blow, as Cappa developed into a very solid offensive lineman that year. He was a big piece of the offensive line and as we all know, it's hard to make up for the loss of solid play on the front five.

Well, the worry quickly faded as Cappa's replacement, Aaron Stinnie, stepped in and helped lead the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl title over the next three games.

Stinnie was great during the postseason run and his performance landed him back on the Bucs' roster in 2021. Cappa recovered from his injury and reassumed his starting job, which returned Stinnie to backup status. 

He'd get another shot at the starting gig after the 2021 season. The Bucs lost Cappa to free agency and Ali Marpet to retirement, which left the team with two giant holes at guard. Jason Licht filled one of those holes by trading for Shaq Mason, but there was still another big hole on the left side.

That was Stinnie's chance to find his way back into the starting lineup, but instead, he tore his ACL during a preseason matchup with the Tennessee Titans and had to sit out the entire 2022 season. 

He's currently working his way back to the practice field and even took part in some individual drills during mandatory minicamp, but there's still a long ways to go.

And the hill gets even steeper when looking at what he has to do just to even make the roster this time around. 

Much like last year, there is a ton of competition for just one starting job: the right guard position. Matt Feiler has the left side locked down, for now. Therefore, Stinnie is competing with second-round rookie Cody Mauch, the ever-feisty and versatile Nick Leverett, and former tackle Brandon Walton, among others, for a spot on the depth chart.

Sure, Stinnie has valuable playing experience, but, not only is he recovering from a serious knee injury – all of the aforementioned players can play multiple positions. Stinnie only plays guard.

Versatility is a trait that is pretty much required of interior offensive linemen in the NFL. If you're a backup, you need to be able to play multiple positions. It's all about maximizing the 53-man roster, so teams don't want to pigeonhole roster spots, per se. 

We don't even know if Stinnie will be ready to go by training camp and if he is, how long will it take him to get back to his previous form – if he can at all? That major question, along with his lack of versatility are the catalysts behind the realistic -and probable- thought that the former playoff hero has played his last down with the Buccaneers.

Featured image via Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports