Bucs tackle Tristan Wirfs moving into a bigger role this season
TAMPA — Tristan Wirfs cannot avoid the speculation. The All-Pro right tackle simply accepts that his role with the Bucs will be in limbo until after the draft, following the talk on social media along with everybody else.
During Monday’s first day of voluntary offseason workouts, Wirfs said he was preparing to play right or left tackle as the team tries to fill the hole left by the release of Donovan Smith.
“Yeah, I’ve definitely been working (on the left side) just in case,” Wirfs said. “I’ve been working both, just covering my bases. I don’t think anything’s been confirmed. I’ve been seeing what everyone on Twitter says. So, we’ll wait till the draft, wait till we sign somebody. Who knows? Whatever happens, happens. I’ll be ready.”
A move from right tackle, where Wirfs has been so successful (2020 all-rookie team, 2021 All-Pro, Pro Bowl appearances in ‘21 and ‘22), is no small adjustment. The 6-foot-5, 320-pounder started three games on that side in college at Iowa.
Before the Bucs drafted him with the 13th overall pick in 2020, Wirfs told Cleveland’s ESPN radio station that flipping between the two sides “kind of feels like wiping your butt with your other hand. It just feels a little awkward at first, but you get used to it.”
Regardless of whether he changes sides, Wirfs is definitely stepping into one new role this season: a more vocal leader. That was evident Monday, when he called out some members of the Bucs’ 2020 championship team for taking their foot off the gas pedal after winning the Super Bowl.
“Winning the Super Bowl was kind of like a blessing and a curse at the same time,” Wirfs said. “I feel like it united some groups of people or some guys, and it kind of made individuals. I feel like it does that everywhere.
“So we want everyone to be together and everyone to be like, ‘Yeah, we’ve done this. We did that with this group of people in this year; that’s in the past. We’re here now, but we know what it takes.’ "
Wirfs said he believes that starts with players being responsible to each other.
“We’ve got a new thing up on the board that says ‘Attitude Breeds Responsibility.’ I think that kind of speaks for itself,” Wirfs said. “Responsibility isn’t just going to come. … There are two things that you can control: attitude and effort. I’ve been saying it for three years, so if everybody buys into that, it’ll be really good.”
While Wirfs bemoaned the trade of veteran right guard Shaq Mason, a salary-cap casualty, saying “that one stung,” he pointed out that the Bucs’ often-maligned offensive line had a good turnout for the first day of voluntary workouts.
“(Robert) Hainsey, Luke (Goedeke), (Aaron) Stinnie, Nick (Leverett), they’re all great players,” Wirfs said. “I have 100% trust in them, and I love them to death. All of us showed up first day of (organized team activities), so that was really good to see. Even (center Ryan) Jensen was here.”
Jensen suffered a serious knee injury on the second day of training camp last year and didn’t play until the wild-card playoff loss to the Cowboys.
Wirfs hopes the turnout will be the first step toward turning around the Bucs’ downward trend following their Super Bowl season. Another step was adding quarterback Baker Mayfield to compete with Kyle Trask to fill the void left when seven-time champion Tom Brady retired after the season. Wirfs said he is excited about Mayfield, calling him “a dog” who “loves being a part of a team.”
“I think he loves his teammates,” Wirfs said, “and that’s what I’m really excited to experience.”
The Bucs also have to reset their offense without Brady.
After replacing offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich with former Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales, the expectation is that the Bucs, who scored the fewest rushing touchdowns in the NFL last season (five), will run more. The offense should feature a lot of wide zone and stretch running plays, with bootlegs and misdirection play-action like Canales used in Seattle.
Wirfs is excited by the thought.
“I think it allows it to set stuff up,” he said. “We can capture the edge, capture the edge, capture the edge and then throw them out the other way. Making it all look the same until it’s not. That’ll be really nice.”
Contact Kristie Ackert at kackert@tampabay.com.
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