The Tampa Bay Buccaneers returned to practice after Friday night’s win over the New York Jets, and they received even more momentum in the form of Tristan Wirfs’ return to the practice field.

Wirfs was dealing with a hamstring injury he suffered in conditioning drills ahead of training camp and had yet to practice in any form or fashion. That obviously changed on Monday, and the Buccaneers offensive line is now officially up to full speed with all five starters locked into action.

It’s a tremendous boost for the Buccaneers because Tristan Wirfs is one of the best, if not the best, tackles in the game. He’s an absolute stalwart on the left side of the line, and just about any defender not named Chase Young rarely beats him on a consistent basis. He’s easily the best offensive lineman on the Buccaneers, and you could even make an argument that he’s the best player on the team, in general.

Tristan Wirfs’ return carries extra weight with Benjamin Chukwuma sidelined

The news doesn’t come without a little bit of a ding, however. Backup left tackle Benjamin Chukwuma was seen not practicing on Monday, which only adds to the importance of Wirfs’ return.

Chukwuma had been practicing mostly at left tackle throughout camp. He played at right tackle against the Jets on Friday night and struggled a bit, and he also struggled in the joint practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

If Wirfs wasn’t on the field Monday, the Buccaneers’ tackle depth would have been extremely thin, with veteran Justin Skule being pretty much the only serviceable player who could step in and fill a void if Wirfs or Luke Goedeke missed time. Tampa Bay’s offensive line can now work toward its ceiling

So, with all that being said, the Buccaneers definitely have a smile on their face watching Wirfs on the practice field Monday, and for good reason. They’ve got their All-Pro left tackle back, and now the offensive line can start working toward that top-five potential that we see on paper.

Other notable injury updates

Wide receivers Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka and cornerback Zyon McCollum were the biggest absentees from Monday’s practice. Egbuka was officially diagnosed with a sprained toe and it’s iffy when it comes to his return before Week 1. 

McCollum didn’t practice at all, last week, as he recovers from a groin injury. McMillan is dealing with a knee injury and there’s no exact timetable for his return.

Linebacker Christian Rozeboom, guard Billy Schrauth, and defensive lineman Elijah Simmons were also held out of Monday’s session.

On the bright side of things, backup quarterback Jake Browning returned to practice, as well as cornerback Benjamin Morrison and safety J.J. Roberts. Like Wirfs, this is the first time Roberts has participated in training camp. He also missed all of OTAs and minicamp due to his recovery from last year’s ACL injury.