Bucs' Tristan Wirfs Reportedly Out to Start NFL Season After Surgery on Knee Injury

Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs is expected to miss the start of the 2025 season after undergoing surgery on his right knee on Tuesday, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud.

Wirfs "will likely miss at least the first couple games of the regular season," Stroud reported.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Wirfs is a "strong candidate" to open the year on the physically unable to perform list, which would sideline him for at least four games.

The surgery took place after Wirfs aggravated an existing knee injury this offseason, according to Stroud.

Wirfs sat out Week 12 of the 2024 season with what head coach Todd Bowles described as a "low-grade knee sprain."

He returned for the remainder of the 2024 campaign, then sat out mandatory minicamp in June with a "large brace on his right knee," according to ESPN's Jenna Laine.

Bowles said at the time that Wirfs' minicamp absence was "precautionary," and that the left tackle would be "fine in training camp."

Doctors then found "additional minor damage" when beginning arthroscopic surgery to address the injury, according to Stroud.

Stroud noted that Charlie Heck could replace Wirfs at starting left tackle if he is still sidelined by the time the Bucs kick off Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 7.

Heck comes to Tampa Bay with five years of NFL experience split between the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers. He started 21 games over four seasons with the Texans.

After a midseason trade from the Cardinals, Heck started the last two games of the Niners' 2024 season at left tackle.

Losing Wirfs is a major blow for the Buccaneers' offensive line, which allowed an NFL-low pressure rate of 24.4 percent last season, according to Pro Football Network.

Wirfs himself recorded a pressure rate of just 4.3 percent, the lowest number among any NFL left tackle who recorded at least 200 pass blocks last season, per NFL Next Gen Stats and Buccaneers.com's Scott Smith.

The Buccaneers will at least have the entirety of training camp to fit in a potential replacement like Heck into the offensive line as the unit prepares to brace for the loss of its most effective pass protector.

Wirfs, 26, is heading into the first season of the five-year, $140 million extension he signed with the Bucs last offseason. His eventual return will be key to helping Baker Mayfield cut down on last season's NFL-high 16-interception total this winter.