Bucs get hit with another key injury that forces Tristan Wirfs to miss Week 14 matchup against Saints
Wirfs is dealing with an oblique injury he picked up in Week 13 and he will miss his fourth game of the year, as a result.
The week started out very promising for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as wide receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan each saw their respective 21-day practice window open up. Meaning, there was a chance they could return to the field as soon as this week’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
Well, Wednesday’s update regarding Tristan Wirfs put a sizable dent in that development after it was reported he did not practice due to an oblique injury. He missed Thursday’s session, as well.
The momentum surrounding Evans and McMillan was shut down Friday when Todd Bowles told reporters they wouldn’t play against the Saints. Some optimism was restored, however, in the form of Wirfs practicing in a limited capacity, thus receiving a questionable tag heading into Sunday’s contest.
Unfortunately, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Wirfs is not expected to play against the Saints, leaving the Bucs without their best player for the fourth time in 2025.
It remains to be seen who replaces Wirfs against the Saints
Bowles declined to tell reporters what the plan was in case Wirfs couldn’t go, leaving an open-ended question that probably won’t get answered until we saw the offense take its first snap of the game.
It’s not a matter of simply assuming Charlie Heck takes over at left tackle. When Wirfs missed Weeks 1-3, it was starting center Graham Barton at left tackle, Mike Jordan at left guard, Ben Bredeson at center, Cody Mauch (pre-injury) at right guard, and then Luke Goedeke at right tackle that started the season up front. Things got shuffled again once Mauch and Goedeke went down in Week 2, but as you can see, the Bucs are more than willing to tinker with the offensive line if they have to.
Bredeson wasn’t even on the injury report after missing the last two games with a hamstring, so the Bucs will have three of the four guys they had starting in Week 1. My guess is they’ll plug Heck in at right tackle now that Barton has moved back to center and Bredeson has moved back to guard since Wirfs’ Week 4 return.
It’s a lot different to have a stretch in training camp where the Bucs could experiment with Barton at LT and whatnot, but it’s a lot different to go back to that after nine in-season games. For the sake of cohesion, chemistry, and more specifically Barton’s development, it’s best to replace one guy instead of swap multiple guys around. Again, in-season.
Wirfs’ injury isn’t ideal but it came at the right time
Teams never want to see their best players go down, especially a guy with Wirfs’ resume. However, if there was a week for the injury bug to temporarily strike, it’s this one.
The Saints are still reeling like they have all this year. The defense is giving up close to 23 points per game over the last seven contests and Tyler Shough looks like a second-round rookie trying to figure out the quarterback position.
In all, having Wirfs doesn’t help, but the Bucs should be fine.
Bucs offense has a chance to be near full-strength in Week 15
Yes, the Wirfs injury is frustrating and totally fits 2025’s run of bad injury luck, plus the transactional trend of the Bucs getting a guy back just to lose a guy (or guys).
However, it seems like a one-week deal and if it is, there’s a good chance he, Evans, and McMillan all return in Week 15.
If that happens the Bucs offense will be down just one starter heading into a final stretch run that includes two key games against the Carolina Panthers. That’s absolutely crazy to think about considering all the injuries that side of the ball has gone through this year.
Mauch would be the only starter off the board. And if the unit can actually stay healthy, well, maybe we’ll finally get to see the offense we all thought we’d see before everyone started getting hurt.
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