Tristan Wirfs injury opens the door for Buccaneers rookie to receive major career boost that could mean big things down the road

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received bad news in the form of Tristan Wirfs re-aggravating his 2024 knee injury on Wednesday, leaving the offense without one of its best players for possibly first quarter of the regular season.

Per Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud, Wirfs underwent arthroscopic surgery and unexpectedly, more damage was found, resulting in a longer recovery time that now extends into the first weeks of the regular season. The Bucs could put him on the Physicaly Unable to Perform list, which means he'd be out for the first four games of the regular season, at minimum.

The Bucs lost Justin Skule, their swing tackle from previous seasons, during the offseason, but replaced him with Charlie Heck. Heck is entering the sixth year of his career and has appeared in 50 games that includes 23 starts during that span. Unless something goes wrong, he should replace Wirfs while he's out.

But don't count out undrafted rookie Ben Chukwuma, who will now get a lot more reps and opportunities to stand out during training camp. 

That's key for the rookie, who just started playing the tackle position in 2023. He isn't the most athletic guy in the world (he's subpar, actually), but he has the size and length to play the position and the tape reflects that sentiment, as well. 

The Bucs obviously believe in him because they paid him $300k in guaranteed money, which basically ensures a spot on the practice squad, at worst. But now, he has a legit shot to make the 53-man roster and stay there for a solid chunk of time.

That's huge for Chukwuma because of one main reason: When players are on a 53-man roster or some sort of IR/injury list for at least six regular season games they earn an accrued season for that year. Once players earn four accrued seasons, they become vested veterans and are given full freedom when it comes their potential free agency prospects.

Before Wirfs' injury, the odds of Chukwuma making the 53-man roster were basically slim-to-none. But now, they are exponentially greater as the roster composition and competition aspects work much better in his favor.

Getting an early start on that process would be huge for Chukwuma, who could develop into a serviceable player down the road. His inexperience shows up in a variety of ways and that's fine due to the context surrounding his career arc, but his ceiling and potential also show up and there are a lot of good things to work with.