Left tackle Tristan Wirfs remains sidelined for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Week 2 game against the Houston Texans on Monday night, but there was a sign during the week that he could return soon.
Wirfs had arthroscopic knee surgery in July, leading to his not being ready for the start of this season. While it was initially expected that he would start the season on the physically unable to perform list, that didn’t happen, which makes Wirfs eligible to play in the first four weeks of the 2025 campaign.
To fill the void in Week 1, the Bucs shifted Cody Barton to left tackle, Ben Bredeson to center and started Mike Jordan at guard. We would expect a similar approach in Week 2.
Earlier this week, Wirfs received a positive update on his status from Buccaneers practice. Here’s what we know about the four-time Pro Bowler.
Tristan Wirfs injury updatePer the Bucs’ official injury report, Wirfs saw his first practice participation of the regular season this week. After not practicing last week, Wirfs was able to log two limited sessions during the week before sitting out on Saturday and being ruled out.
“It’s great to see them out there. They were limited in practice, but they flew around and did the things we asked them to do,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said of both Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin, who is also recovering from an injury. “We’ll see how the week progresses right now.”
ESPN reported that Wirfs “likely has a similar return to play timeline as Godwin,” which is October, per NFL insider Adam Schefter.
The Bucs’ first game next month falls on Oct. 5, which is in Week 5. That appears to be the earliest we can expect Wirfs to make his 2025 debut.
Getting Wirfs back will be a massive boost for Tampa Bay’s offense, as the four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro is one of the best left tackles in the NFL.
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