The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the NFL‘s deepest and most complete rosters, and are appropriately considered one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. The biggest area of concern for the Bucs — apart from Tom Brady’s mysterious training camp absence that may or may not be ending any time soon — is the offensive line, where they underwent several changes this offseason and are now dealing with injury issues.
Tampa saw star guard Ali Marpet retire this offseason at the age of 29. It saw guard Alex Cappa leave in free agency for a larger contract from the Cincinnati Bengals. Earlier in training camp, it lost star center Ryan Jensen to a significant knee injury, the severity of which has yet to be determined due to lingering swelling.
And on Thursday, Tampa got more bad news along the offensive front, as star right tackle Tristan Wirfs left practice with an oblique injury. According to The Athletic, Wirfs has a strained oblique, and there is not yet any word on how long he will be sidelined.
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With Tampa’s season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys scheduled for Sept. 11, Wirfs has just over three weeks to heal up and get ready to deal with Demarcus Lawrence, who rushes primarily off the left side of the Dallas defensive line. If he can’t get ready in time, the Bucs would begin the season with just one of last season’s five offensive line starters still in place for the 2022 season.
That’s less than ideal against a Dallas defense that was one of the NFL’s best last season, and which features not just Lawrence, but also Micah Parsons. Hopefully for Tampa’s sake, Wirfs’ injury is not a serious one, and he can get back on the field sooner rather than later.
