How healed is Tristan Wirfs?
It sounds like he’s not 100 percent with the season-opener 15 days away.
About five weeks ago, Wirfs injured a hamstring during a run a day before the first training camp practice.
On Tuesday in full pads against Jacksonville in a joint practice, Wirfs took about 8 snaps total and participated in some drills. He looked good.
The Bucs are being cautious with Wirfs, as they should be. Getting him to 100 percent likely is critical to Wirfs being his All-Pro self this season, which he was not last year because of a preseason injury.
On the Buccaneers Radio Network last night, general manager Jason Licht updated Wirfs’ status and implied Wirfs has hurdles to clear before he’s fully healthy:
“It was awesome to see Tristan out there moving around well, feeling good. We’re expecting him ready 100 percent here in a couple of (Licht cuts himself off) you know, he’s already looking good, but ready to play Week 1,” Licht said. “And then to have \[the entire offensive line\] out there in the first week is something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
Joe will let fans read between the lines on Licht’s words. Joe’s takeaway is that Wirfs’ hamstring pull/tear was probably more significant than most fans want to think about.