All of the injury news for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been bad news through the first month of the regular season — until now.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a trio of Pro Bowl players dealing with injuries will all be on the field for the Buccaneers’ unbeaten home showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4.
“Three key Buccaneers listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Eagles — QB Baker Mayfield (bicep), WR Chris Godwin (ankle), and LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) — all are expected to play, per sources,” Schefter wrote on his official X account on September 27.
Neither Wirfs or Godwin have played a game yet this season but the Buccaneers kept them on the active roster and not injured reserve in order for them to continue practicing with the team. It was previously thought Wirfs and Godwin might not play until a Week 5 road game against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Buccaneers have gone 3-0 without 2 of their best players thanks to 3 fourth quarter comebacks in their first 3 games — mostly behind the brilliant play of Mayfield — which is the first time that’s happened since the NFL-AFL Merger in 1970.
Wirfs Most Dominant Offensive Lineman in NFL
No single player has been missed more by their team than Wirfs, who is thought of as not just the NFL’s most dominant offensive lineman but a potential future Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Wirfs is a 4-time Pro Bowler and 3-time Pro Bowler through his first 5 seasons — as well as a Super Bowl champion — and is the only player in NFL history to earn NFL All-Pro honors at both right offensive tackle and his current position, left offensive tackle.
“Tristan Wirfs says he was relieved when doctors finally discovered there was something wrong with his knee because it wasn’t getting better,” Wirfs told Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud on September 25. ” ‘I wasn’t crazy,’ he said, noting he had been in pain before the surgery. Now he is pain free and could play Sunday.”
Wirfs is also the highest paid offensive lineman in NFL history after he signed a 4-year, $140.6 million contract extension before the 2024 season.
Godwin Hasn’t Played Since Gruesome MNF Injury
Mayfield, a 2-time Pro Bowler, hasn’t missed a game in 3 seasons with the Buccaneers. Godwin hasn’t played since he suffered a gruesome dislocated left ankle in a Monday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 of the 2024 regular season.
Godwin’s injury, which appeared career threatening at first, sidelined him for the rest of the season and actually required 2 surgeries to fix. None of that stopped him from being one of the NFL’s most coveted free agents and the Buccaneers signing him to a 3-year, $66 million contract.
Godwin reportedly turned down an offer in the range of $90 million to $100 million from the New England Patriots to return to Tampa Bay, where he’s been his entire career since the Buccaneers selected him in the third round (No. 84 overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.
Godwin was third in the NFL in receiving yards when he was hurt last year and earned NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2019.
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