The Buccaneers managed to defeat the two-time reigning AFC South champion Texans without either of their starting tackles. Their backups helped Baker Mayfield withstand a strong pass rush, headlined by Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, in a last-second win.
Tristan Wirfs is on his way back from offseason knee surgery, but the team appears unlikely to have right tackle Luke Goedeke available when Wirfs returns. Goedeke left Monday night’s win with a foot injury, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who adds the recently extended tackle is expected to miss time.
Though, it is believed Goedeke avoided a serious injury. While he is still expected to miss time — potentially multiple games — Fowler describes this setback as an aggravation of a previous malady. With it not known if even multiple absences will be required, Goedeke may be a good bet to avoid IR.
Tampa Bay did not use the reserve/PUP list for Wirfs, who would have been sidelined for at least four games in that scenario. The team may also be comfortable carrying Goedeke on its 53-man roster in the event he will be ready to return over the next month. A Goedeke IR placement would sideline him until Week 7. The Bucs have home games against the Jets and Eagles over the next two weeks; they then face the Seahawks and 49ers in Weeks 6 and 7.
Goedeke signed a four-year, $90MM extension just before the season. The 2022 second-round pick made a promising transition from guard to tackle earlier in his career and secured a spot in Tampa Bay’s long-term plans in doing so. The Bucs now have Goedeke and Wirfs signed long term. The latter remains the NFL’s second-highest-paid offensive lineman. Pro Football Focus ranked Goedeke as a top-30 tackle in his first two seasons manning the Bucs’ right tackle spot.
The Bucs turned to Charlie Heck at RT once Goedeke went down. The team had previously passed on using Heck in place of Wirfs, having seen Graham Barton — a center prospect who finished his Duke career at left tackle — play well on the blind side early in training camp. While the Bucs’ first instinct was to use Heck as the Wirfs replacement, ESPN’s Dan Graziano indicates the team pivoted after setting its initial 53-man roster and decided the Barton-at-LT plan would be the Week 1 path. This moved Ben Bredeson to center and Michael Jordan to left guard. That alignment remained in place Monday night.
Wirfs began practicing last week, and while the Bucs kept him on their 53-man roster to open the season, it is possible he does not suit up until Week 5 anyway. Wirfs said (via Fox Sports’ Greg Auman) the goal is a Week 5 reemergence. The standout tackle said he could return sooner — a scenario GM Jason Licht alluded to previously — but it appears Week 5 represents the tentative plan.
More to come.