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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without one of their key linemen, Tristan Wirfs, to start the season. That means they will have to find a replacement for the time being, and they're already working out players who can fill in for him, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
“Source: Former Seahawks OT George Fant is working out for the Bucs today. Fant has 75 career starts, and Tampa Bay is exploring options at OT with All-Pro Tristan Wirfs expected to miss the start of the season due to a knee injury,” Schultz wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Fant has worked out with other teams during the offseason, and it's obvious that they see how he could be a good addition to their offensive line. Fant signed with the Seahawks in 2016 as an undrafted free agent and finished a three-year rookie contract with the team before they used a second-round restricted tender on him in 2019.
He signed a three-year deal with the Jets in 2020 as an unrestricted free agent, and then signed with the Texans in 2023 on a one-year deal. Last season, he returned to the Seahawks, but he only appeared in two games. Now, with the Buccaneers needing some depth on the line, there's a good chance that Fant has found his next team if they like what they see from him.
Buccaneers to miss Tristan Wirfs at start of season
Wirfs is set to miss the first couple of games of the season after aggravating a right knee injury in the offseason that forced him to miss a game last year. When the Buccaneers scheduled arthroscopic surgery for Wirfs, they found some additional minor damage.
Losing Wirfs for some games will be rough, especially for Baker Mayfield, as he protects his blindside. The Buccaneers had one of the best running games last season, ranking fourth in the league after being last in the previous season. The team will have some options to replace Wirfs, and Charlie Heck could be someone who takes his spot in the starting lineup.
The Buccaneers will be returning most of the same key players on the team from last season, and their goal, as always, is to take the NFC South division, which is what they've done the past few years. It'll be interesting to see how they stack up this season, and if they can repeat that same success they've had.
