With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, there is no denying that the team needs as much reinforcement as possible to try to beat the defending champions. While the Buccaneers will be without wide receiver Mike Evans, who's dealing with a hamstring injury, the team could get back star offensive lineman Tristam Wirfs.
The 26-year-old has not played a down this season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in July, but has practiced the last few weeks in preparation for an eventual return. With Sunday against Philadelphia looming ahead, Wirfs would talk about how the process has been and how it originally started, thinking he would play through the injury, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
“I think it was really frustrating because I was training like I normally train, getting MRIs and seeing it getting worse,” Wirfs said Thursday. “I was like, preparing — I was like, alright, we’re going to get through it. From what we saw, they’re like, ‘Nothing’s wrong.’ And I was like, alright, we’re going to get through the season, it’s going to suck. I don’t know if it’s going to be pretty, but we’re going to do it.”
Buccaneers' Tristan Wirfs on being “pain free”
As the Buccaneers also received great news regarding wide receiver Chris Godwin, the same can be said about Wirfs, as he was listed as a full participant in Thursday's practice, according to Tom Pelissero, with his status for Sunday still unknown. Still, it's a good sign to hear that Wirfs says that he is “pain free” compared to how it was during the offseason.
“And then, it was kind of like almost a relief — knowing, OK, I’m not crazy, there’s something there that was causing this,” Wirfs said. “And, again, frustrated about the timing, but really glad it got fixed, and it’s crazy now, being pain free compared to the entire offseason. I couldn’t go up and down stairs. I was like, this sucks. But to feel how I feel now is awesome.”
Wirfs got the knee injury last November against the San Francisco 49ers, but would play after with a brace, as the team thought best for the star to get surgery so it wouldn't be a problem down the line. At any rate, Tampa Bay looks to stay undefeated as they face Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.
