joebucsfan.com

Enhanced Challenge For Josh Grizzard

July 10th, 2025

Rookie Bucs playcaller Josh Grizzard got a lot more dumped on his plate yesterday.

Using a dinner analogy, it’s the cold Lima beans he doesn’t want to eat.

Joe’s referring to Bucs left tackle Tristan Wirfs having unexpected knee surgery Tuesday and the report of him missing multiple September games.

Grizzard now has to worry about covering up a weakness on his line. Veteran backup Charlie Heck might do just fine, and the Bucs will get a long look at him through training camp and preseason, but Heck is no Wirfs. Hiccups and bad matchups must now be expected when they weren’t before.

That’s a challenge for an offensive coordinator to tackle. Longtime NFL offensive coordinator and former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley talked about this on SiriusXM NFL Radio yesterday. He noted how the Bucs will have to slide protection to help Heck.

“So [Heck] can overset, he knows he’s got help from a guard,” Haley said. “You can use a back to chip. You can motion a tight end over and he’s involved in the protection when you’re not sliding to [the left tackle]. There are things you can do and it’s been done. It’s not the end of the world. … There’s ways to cover it up and help as much as you can. … I mean, you do some things that you maybe normally would never do from a protection standpoint in order to kinda cover up a potential weakness.”

Yes, Grizzard will have to alter his offense and approach before ever calling a play. That’s not smooth start for a guy who has never called plays.

At least Grizzard saw first-hand how his predecessor handled a similar situation in Weeks 2 through 5 last season, when right tackle Luke Goedeke was lost for four games with a concussion. The Bucs averaged 23 points during those games — 6 1/2 below their season average.

Haley noted that first, Grizzard and other Bucs coaches must get over the agonizing news of Wirfs’ injury.

Haley said Bucs coaches were likely moaning yesterday, “Why didn’t we have this information in the offseason?” regarding the Wirfs injury. “I’m sure there’s a lot of frustrated people, including Tristan in this situation,” he said.