Tristan Wirfs Weighs In On Bucs' O-Line Goals

“Yeah, that’s definitely the goal – to be one of the top units in the NFL,” Wirfs said. “We want teams to turn on the tape and say, ‘Those are a bunch of badass guys that finish plays.’ It’s nice to have us all back out there. I know we went through a big reshuffle throughout the whole season last year. At the same time, guys stepped up and came in and did their best and gave us everything they had.

“I think that’s just a credit to our room. Guys that come in and there’s a standard that we all want to uphold, and we all want to play for each other. It’s nice to have the whole gang back.”

Ben Bredeson, Graham Barton, Cody Mauch, and Luke Goedeke have all gotten work in together throughout training camp, and adding Wirfs is like Thanos collecting the final infinity stone. Rather than wipe out life on Earth, the goal is to neutralize defensive lines and protect quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“I know we want to move the line of scrimmage, and I know we want to keep ‘6’ safe,” Wirfs said. “If we do that, I think we’re going to win some ballgames. Let him go be the dawg that he is and let our running back room eat. We’re just trying to be great.”

After Watching Bucs Training Camp, Tristan Wirfs Is “In Damn Good Shape”

For one reason or another, Tristan Wirfs has become a spectator of Bucs training camp in recent seasons.

It was short-lived in 2024 as he returned to practice after signing a five-year, $140 million deal in early August. Last year, an offseason knee surgery kept Wirfs out during camp, and he has missed much of it this year dealing with a hamstring injury that popped up as the team reported back. While Wirfs has been limited, he has watched the team closely and shared what has stood out to him.

“I think we’re a very tight-knit team [on] both sides of the ball,” Wirfs said. “I mean, I got to see that last year. I missed training camp, that sucked. But to see it through that lens like just on the outside, it was weird. I mean, I wasn’t a fan of it, I didn’t like that point of view. To see guys step up and to see guys take on that leadership role has been really cool to see.

“Just the guys, you know, going out there everyday grinding, you know, not complaining no matter what the weather is, how hot it is whatever, not making excuses just going out and doing their job.”

Regardless of how much progress the team has made, it is a different offensive line when No. 78 is involved.

Wirfs is the undisputed leader in the trenches as a team captain and arguably the best left tackle in the NFL when healthy. The team has cautiously brought him along slowly over the past month, and now it is time for him to get plenty of reps. Head coach Todd Bowles will not be playing the starters in the final preseason game, so the only chance for him to lock in is at practice.

“I think we’re trying to be smart,” Wirfs said. “A little bit early on in camp I was [thinking] I’ve never really [hurt] a hamstring before. I was like, ‘What is this?’ I [had] a couple of plays [on Tuesday], and then kind of just keep doing that moving forward. I think these next two weeks will be big just to get as many reps as I can. But, yeah, really, really happy to be back out there with the boys, just grinding with them. We got blessed early in camp with the weather, so I didn’t feel too bad. But no, I’m really happy to be back with them.”

It was not easy for Wirfs to get to this point, but he confirmed to Pewter Report that he has added muscle and is now up to a rock solid 345 pounds.

“I was like, ‘Guys, I want to come back and be in shape,'” Wirfs said. “The bike, the versa climber, I was in the pool. A lot of cardio, the ski erg. It sucked, the prowler [pushes]… I feel like I’m in damn good shape from what they were putting me through but that was the plan. Let’s do everything I can to come back and just start rolling.”