The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received some concerning injury news with just 56 days until the NFL season is set to start. All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, which is expected to keep him out for the start of the season.
Wirfs had the surgery on Tuesday after aggravating his right knee earlier this offseason. But during the procedure, doctors found additional damage that required cleanup and clouded his recovery timeline.
The early expectation is that Wirfs will begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, which would mean he misses at least the first four games of the season. The 26-year-old is a crucial part of the Buccaneers’ offensive line and holds the responsibility of protecting Baker Mayfield’s blind spot. Wirfs is effective as a blocker in both the pass and rushing game. He is a four-time Pro Bowler and a two-time First-Team All-Pro. The Tampa Bay standout also became the first player in NFL history to earn first-team All-Pro honors at both right and left tackle. He played 1,014 offensive snaps last season, allowing just 12 pressures, one quarterback hit and zero sacks. Wirfs has allowed just one total sack in his career, which occurred during his rookie season back in 2020.
His injury-driven absence will leave a notable void, with newly acquired Charlie Heck likely to fill his spot in the starting lineup while Wirfs remains out.
Should the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still be NFC South Favorites?
Looking at the odds on DraftKings Sportsbook, the Buccaneers remain the favorites to win the NFC South at -110 odds. But should the injury to Wirfs change this?
Tampa Bay has won the NFC South for four consecutive seasons and is coming off a 10-7 record last year. The last time it failed to win the NFC South was in 2020, when it went 11-5 and entered the playoffs as a Wild Card team. The Buccaneers went on to win the Super Bowl with Tom Brady still as their quarterback in 2020.
Tampa Bay will enter this season with mostly the same core and has made some solid moves to shore up the trenches and secondary. It also drafted Jalen McMillan and signed Sterling Shepard to further shore up its wide receiver room. There is a comforting identity and sample size of production that can be seen with the Buccaneers that is not true about the rest of the division.
The Atlanta Falcons hold the next-best odds at +250 on DraftKings Sportsbook to win the NFC South. But last season was a major disappointment in which Kirk Cousins failed to live up to expectations and he was benched after some high hopes entering the season. The Falcons will now fully start the Michael Penix Jr. era this season, and there have been plenty of changes made on the defensive side of the ball as well. Penix showed some nice flashes during his opportunities last year, but he still has plenty to prove. Atlanta has accepted a youth movement, but it remains to be seen how ready these young talents are to convert their skills to wins and losses.
The Carolina Panthers hold +400 odds of winning the NFC South on DraftKings Sportsbook and have an even more perplexing quarterback outlook. They selected Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to be their franchise quarterback. The Alabama product has struggled to the point where he has been benched for 37-year-old Andy Dalton to get him on track. Young showed some really encouraging flashes during the home stretch of last season, but so much of the franchise’s outlook is dependent on whether this is sustainable. Carolina has done a nice job building up young talent, including selecting 6-foot-4 wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth overall pick. I am optimistic that things will fully begin to click this year for Young, but not to the point where it translates to Carolina being in contention.
Bringing up the rear of the division and likely to be in the mix for the top pick in next year’s NFL Draft is the New Orleans Saints. Holding +1200 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook of winning the division, New Orleans got the shocking news of Derek Carr retiring due to the nature of his shoulder injury. This leaves a barren quarterback room headlined by Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler and without a quarterback on the roster who has won an NFL game.
While the Tristan Wirfs injury is a huge knock to this Buccaneers team, there is still a clear path to them winning the NFC South for the fifth consecutive season. There are far larger question marks surrounding every other team in the division, with quarterback play right at the top of the list. With Baker Mayfield as the clear best quarterback in the division and Tampa Bay holding a well-rounded overall roster, I like its chances of winning the NFC South at -110 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
