Tampa Bay

Buccaneers

The All-Pro tackle underwent knee surgery this week and will miss training camp and the preseason. He could be back sometime in September, though that seems optimistic right now. Bucs coaches said in June that Wirfs sitting out minicamp was strictly precautionary and that he would be ready for training camp. Instead, he will start the season on the PUP list, which will cost him at least four games. It’s an outsized loss for the Bucs offense. Pro Football Focus graded Wirfs as 2024’s top pass blocking offensive lineman. He allowed just one quarterback hit over 16 games. Wirfs’ absence will likely impact Baker Mayfield and the team’s pass catchers.

The Athletic’s Dan Pompei’s touching profile on Irving’s relationship with Buccaneers offensive consultant Tom Moore details Irving’s diligent offseason habits and, critically, indicates Irving could play even better than he did in his 2024 rookie season. Buccaneers running backs coach Skip Peete celebrated Irving’s “great vision,” elusiveness and ability to generate explosive gains. Irving finished as the PPR RB13 last season, despite officially starting just three games and playing a backup role on passing downs. Should his improved pass protection earn him a larger passing down snap share, he could compete for a mid-to-high RB1 finish.

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, Licht is the league’s fifth-longest tenured traditional general manager, though a few de facto managers have been around longer. Licht has held the title since 2014. The early years were ugly for his front office with just one winning campaign through five years. Licht then signed the greatest quarterback of all time and instantly won a Super Bowl. Licht might not deserve loads of credit for signing Tom Brady. Any manager would do so in a heartbeat. But his post-Brady era has been excellent. The move to bring in journeyman Baker Mayfield has paid off tenfold and the team has won the NFC South in each of the past three seasons. The next step will be an NFC Championship berth as the team has just one playoff win across those three outings.

General manager Jason Licht also got a new deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter didn’t have the exact details of the contracts, but it’s safe to assume both men will be in Tampa Bay for a long time. Bowles spent three years as the Bucs’ defensive coordinator and won a Super Bowl in the role during Tom Brady’s run with the team. Head coach Bruce Arians retired ahead of the 2022 season and Bowles was promoted in his place. He has a 27-24 record since taking over with playoff appearances in all three seasons. The Bucs have yet to make a deep playoff run, but the team was not supposed to be this good when they signed journeyman Baker Mayfield to compete with Kyle Trask for the starting job coming out of the brief Brady era. Bowles has kept the train on the tracks and should be in Tampa Bay for a while if he keeps the team in the NFC hunt every year.

Notably, Laine adds that she expects the role to be big even after Chris Godwin returns from ankle surgery. Egbuka has been fed in the short passing game and at times has looked “like a running back once the ball is in his hands.” It’s possible that Egbuka eats heavily into Jalen McMillan’s target share in 2025. Egbuka seems like a pretty interesting pick in best ball at this point, often going outside of the top-40 receivers.

The 2024 fourth-round draft pick is not resting on his laurels he established as a rookie. “Nobody cares about what you did last year,” said Irving, who led all rookies with 1,122 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns last year. “It’s, ‘What can you do for me now?’ But I’ve always been that guy that pretty much never gets stuck in the past and always [am] where my feet [are] and work hard every day.” In April’s NFL Draft, the Buccaneers added to their depth on offense by adding Emeka Egbuka to a receiving corps that already features Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. That combined with Irving and Rachaad White in the backfield, and Baker Mayfield at quarterback should have the Buccaneers poised to win a fifth straight NFC South title.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said the reason for Wirfs sitting out Tuesday’s practice was precautionary and that the injury was sustained in the offseason. Bowles added that Wirfs will be ‘fine in training camp.’ Wirfs, who is a two-time All-Pro, is entering his sixth season with the Buccaneers. PFF ranked Wirfs as the NFL’s second-best offensive tackle ahead of the 2025 season.

The hint comes from a social media post featuring a photo of Baker Mayfield and an emoji-infused caption suggesting White is preparing for “one last ride” with the team. He was supplanted by 2024 rookie Bucky Irving as the team’s starter last year. White remained the clear-cut passing down back at the end of the season, but his target volume problematically dried up after an eight-target Week 16 outing; he totaled just three targets in Week 17-Wild Card Weekend. White is best viewed as a bench stash with mild PPR RB4/5 potential this year. He is scheduled to hit free agency after the season concludes, and it is possible he finds a fantasy-friendly landing spot as a passing down back in 2026.

It was reported earlier by ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the owners were expected to approve players participating, and it’s now official. Those Olympics will take place in Los Angeles, and players like Mike Evans and Tyreek Hill have expressed interest in participating in the event. The NFL has heavily promoted flag football participation over the last few years, and while there is some injury risk associated with allowing players to chase a Gold medal every four years — assuming this event lasts beyond the 2028 games — it’s not surprising to see the league wanting to see their best on the Olympic stage.

Egbuka gets $18.1 million on his rookie deal. The former Buckeye joins a receiving room that already features Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and will have a chance to immediately take over in three-receiver sets in Josh Grizzard’s offense. Egbuka caught 205 passes during his career at Ohio State and broke out as a sophomore in 2022 when he caught 74 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns. With a career slot rate of 73.2 percent, he’ll likely play a similar role in 2025, with a chance to see more work on the outside later in his career.