Buccaneers are working out a veteran offensive lineman and it doesn't bode well for Tristan Wirfs' injury status

Tristan Wirfs' injury status and how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find a solution for his potential regular season absence is the biggest storyline heading into training camp.The Bucs signed veteran Charlie Heck in the offseason with the idea that he'd replace Justin Skule as the team's swing tackle. Heck has the experience and skillset to […]

Evan Winter — NFL Managing Editor
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Dec 10, 2018; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle George Fant (74) carries the ball on a pass reception in the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Vikings 21-7.
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Tristan Wirfs' injury status and how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find a solution for his potential regular season absence is the biggest storyline heading into training camp.

The Bucs signed veteran Charlie Heck in the offseason with the idea that he'd replace Justin Skule as the team's swing tackle. Heck has the experience and skillset to hold the fort down while Wirfs is out. 

There's also highly-regarded undrafted rookie Ben Chukwuma and names like Silas Dzansi among others. Right now, it's Heck's job to lose, as those guys simply don't have the same experience he does and that's easily the biggest separator, right now.

An NFL season is all about the long run, though. Right now, things might not be so dire, but what if Wirfs does in fact miss games and then Heck or starting right Luke Goedeke go down for an extended period of time? At that point, the Bucs would really be in treacherous territory, so it wouldn't come as a surprise if they added an experienced tackle at some point in the near future.

That could very well be in the cards, as FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz reported Wednesday that the Bucs are bringing in eight-year veteran George Fant for a workout. He last played for the Seattle Seahawks in 2024 and has appeared in 101 games that include 75 starts over the course of his career.

This all but confirms Wirfs will miss time during the regular season

As mentioned above, the Bucs would be in dire straights if another tackle were to go down while Wirfs is out. The fact the Bucs are looking for fallback options basically confirms Wirfs is going to miss time.

Bowles did recently say he believes Wirfs will be back "sooner than later", but it just came off as coach speak once he started elaborating on how he came to that conclusion.

"If I were a betting man. I'll bet he'd be back sooner than later," Bowles told Joe Bucs Fan on the Ira Kaufman Podcast. ". . . I don't know if it's Week 1, 2, 3. He'll definitely put the work in, so I don't have a problem with that."

If it were clear Wirfs can be ready by Week 1, this workout wouldn't be happening. That's obviously not the case and I'd go ahead and start preparing for a Wirfs-less season opener and possibly more.

Fant is coming back from his own knee injury

Fant injured his knee in Week 1 of the 2024 season and was subsequently placed on injured reserve. He tried to come back in Week 9, but aggravated the injury after playing just 17 snaps. The Seahawks then placed him on season-ending IR. He was the team's starting right tackle when the injury occurred.

Therefore, the Bucs are going to work him out in order to see where he's at. A signing won't be any kind of surprise if he checks all the boxes. So, there could be a new face on the roster in the near future.

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