Bucs complete offseason goal to lock up their core with Tristan Wirfs deal

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

On a day when the Bucs celebrated extending one of their best players, they also were reminded how frightening it can be to lose one as well.

Thursday morning started with huge news that left tackle Tristan Wirfs had agreed to a five-year, $140.63 million extension. The deal makes him not only the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history, but also gives him the largest contract in franchise history as well.

Just two hours later, in the final minutes of practice, the Bucs found themselves at the opposite emotional extreme, with players taking a knee on the practice field after outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, who led the team in sacks as a rookie last year, went down with a left ankle injury. He was carted off the field, and coach Todd Bowles said he didn’t immediately know the severity of the setback. Initial X-rays were negative, providing hope that Diaby had avoided a major injury.

Losing him for any significant time would be a major blow to the Bucs’ pass rush. Bowles had praised his outside linebacker depth as being perhaps the team’s best at any position, but then free agent Randy Gregory never reported for camp, and now Diaby’s status is uncertain.

For the long-term future of the team, Wirfs is a cornerstone deal, locking up one of the league’s top young linemen. Wirfs played every snap as a rookie in the Bucs’ Super Bowl season of 2020, became the franchise’s first-ever Associated Press first-team All-Pro selection, made two Pro Bowls and successfully shifted from right tackle to left tackle a year ago.

“If anybody deserves to be the highest paid in franchise history, the highest paid O-lineman in the history of the league, it’s this guy right here,” general manager Jason Licht said Thursday. “Everybody’s excited for Tristan, because of what he embodies as a leader, a person, a player, a freakish athlete, all those things. He just means so much to this organization and what we are trying to build here in terms of the culture.”

The Bucs had said they would make him the league’s highest-paid offensive lineman, and his $28.1 million average trumps the $28 million threshold set by the Lions‘ Penei Sewell this summer. The Bucs were also able to get a fifth year on the contract, after Sewell and the Vikings‘ Christian Darrisaw both signed four-year extensions. Wirfs’ deal will carry through the 2029 season.

Wirfs’ deal completes an impressive offseason, during which the Bucs paid well to keep their core intact. Quarterback Baker Mayfield got a big raise on a three-year, $100 million deal, receiver Mike Evans came back on a two-year, $41 million deal, safety Antoine Winfield became the league’s highest-paid defensive back with a four-year, $84 million deal, and linebacker Lavonte David got $9.5 million on a one-year deal to come back for a 13th season in Tampa.

“I said back in February that to sign all the guys back that were about to walk out the door in free agency, in Baker, Mike, Lavonte, Antoine … to get this one done, we should do a boat parade, because that’s the greatest offseason I can imagine since I’ve been here,” Licht said.

Wirfs and Winfield were drafted the same spring that Tom Brady came to Tampa. At the time, the Bucs had gone 12 years without making the playoffs, but they’ve known nothing but perennial postseason appearances since. Tampa Bay has won three straight division titles after having never won so much as two in a row in the franchise’s first 44 seasons.

Now the Bucs set their sights on a fourth.

So entrenched in the team’s culture is Wirfs that the news of his contract brought wave after wave of heartfelt hugs and fist-bumps at practice. One teammate suggested he now pick up the tab on “Arby’s forever.” Wirfs is only 25, and yet only eight players on the current 90-man roster have been with the team longer. At a press conference after practice, Wirfs had the first row reserved for four of his closest teammates.

“We’re a really tight-knit group, across the board — coaches, players, support staff, everybody,” Wirfs said. “Everyone’s got their hand in the pile, and it just meant a lot to me that everyone was really excited and happy for me. It was super cool. I gave Coach Bowles a big hug, gave Jason a big hug. It was awesome.”

What Tristan Wirfs’ extension means for Jets and Cowboys

Seeing Diaby go off the practice field in a cart had the team fearing the worst for one of their best young players, but there was good news that X-rays showed no break, and the team was waiting for an MRI to show any other damage.

“Right now, we’re hopeful that we avoided something very serious,” Licht said. “Right now, there’s some hope that we did. Yaya’s a big part of our team, and he’s a great guy, another one of the high-character players, so everybody cares.”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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