Ready for some good news/bad news?
The good news is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the NFL’s top offensive tackle in Tristan Wirfs, according to ESPN’s annual Top 10 position rankings.
The bad news is Wirfs may not play for the first month of the season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, which could dramatically impact his team’s playoff chances.
Wirfs, 26 years old, took over the top spot in the rankings after coming in at No. 4 in 2024. Last year’s No. 1, San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams, dropped 3 spots and flip flopped with Wirfs.
Tampa Bay right offensive tackle Luke Goedeke was listed among the honorable mention selections.
“Wirfs earning first-team All-Pro honors at left and right tackle is an incredible feat,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 13. “No other player in NFL history has done that. Perhaps even more impressive: Wirfs did so in his second NFL season of playing each position (2021, 2024), showing a Doogie Howser level of quick learning. ESPN Research attributed two sacks to Wirfs, an impressive number for a left tackle. His 95.9 pass block win rate led all tackles.”
Wirfs is also the game’s highest paid offensive tackle, signing a 5-year, $140.6 million contract extension in August 2024 which pays him $28.125 million per year.
Injury Sends Shockwaves Through NFL, Bucs Nation
ESPN reported on July 9 that Wirfs would miss the start of the season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on July 8.
From ESPN: “Wirfs likely will start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, sources confirmed to ESPN. If he is placed on the PUP list, Wirfs would miss at least Tampa Bay’s first four games.”
Wirfs also missed a career high 4 games in 2022 but still earned Pro Bowl and NFL All-Pro honors. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Iowa product and 2020 first round pick has only missed 5 games through his first 5 NFL seasons, where he’s been a 3-time NFL All-Pro, 4-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion.
Wirfs caused some concern at minicamp in June when he showed up wearing a bulky knee brace.
“As of now, it seems like Wirfs’ right knee is no major cause for concern,” Heavy.com’s Michael Obermuller wrote on June 10. “But if you’re expecting the core foundational pillar to line up on the practice field this week, think again. The Bucs have no reason to risk an injury to one of their most important players. With that being said, it would make sense to keep Wirfs on ice until training camp starts up in late July, a plan Bowles hinted may come to pass on Tuesday.”
Wirfs Approaching Hall of Fame Numbers
The Pro Football Reference Hall of Fame monitor is a way in which a player’s likelihood of making the Pro Football Hall of Fame is computed “using AV, Pro Bowls, All-Pros, championships, and various stat milestones,” to give them a cumulative HOFm rating.
Wirfs’ rating seems to be approaching Hall of Fame status. Through the first 5 seasons of his career, Wirfs sits at 41.6.
The lowest HOFm number to actually make the Hall of Fame is Winston Hill, at 47.6.
The magic HOFm number seems to be around 80, as only Jim Tyrer (105.3) has registered above 80.0 among eligible players and not made the Hall of Fame.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post ‘Incredible Feat’: Buccaneers $140 Million NFL All-Pro Earns Top Spot In NFL Rankings appeared first on Heavy Sports.