Rondé Barber Blasts Charlie Heck, Says Bucs’ Tackle Change Was In The Works For 1 1/2 Months
September 11th, 2025
Whenever something interesting happens at One Buc Palace, there typically are several versions of the truth.
Legendary Bucs Hall of Fame cornerback Rondé Barber works for the Bucs’ in-house media operation, and he’s also an unofficial member of Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht’s inner circle. (Joe presumes the latter is an unpaid position.)
The Rondé Barber Show is a WFLA-TV streaming production that seems to be part of its station partnership with the Buccaneers.
There, while dissecting the Bucs’ win in Atlanta on Sunday, Barber dove into the massive shakeup along the offensive line. Many Bucs fans were stunned by the last-minute shift that pushed center Graham Barton to start at left tackle with left guard Ben Bredeson moving to center. Michael Jordan, a July free agent signing, replaced Bredeson at guard.
It appeared for months that backup left tackle Charlie Heck would fill in for Tristan Wirfs at left tackle as he recovered from knee surgery. On Aug. 21, Todd Bowles declared him the Week 1 starter.
Barber, however, said Heck blocking for Baker Mayfield has been troubling folks at One Buc Palace for a long time.
“Let’s just be honest. Charlie Heck’s feet are not good enough to deal with speed. They’re just not,” Barber said. “The guy’s protecting Baker’s blind side, putting that guy on an island at any point did not seem good. I’m just telling you now, this [offensive line shakeup] has been in the works for a month and a half.”
Joe wonders what the folks at One Buc Palace thought when they heard that on the air. And of course, nobody at One Buc would dare miss The Rondé Barber Show.