The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been waiting on their star tackle Tristan Wirfs, but the former Iowa standout has his reasons for not being around the team. Namely, that the two sides haven’t come to an agreement on a new contract.
Despite that though, the drought will end soon. According to ESPN, the Buccaneers expect Wirfs to attend their mandatory minicamp.
The report says that “if Wirfs and his agent can’t reach a new contract with the Bucs, he’ll play under the fifth-year option in 2024 and earn $18.244 million. Because he’s under contract at this time, should Wirfs decide to switch course and not participate in minicamp, the three-time Pro Bowler would be subject to a $101,716 fine for missing all three days.”
Wirfs’ inclusion in minicamp isn’t determined yet, the report said.
Wirfs has been one of the best tackles in football since Bucs drafted him. He joined the 2020 team after they drafted him that April, and that team of course went on to win the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. Since then, he’s been named to three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. In 2021, he earned First Team All-Pro honors. This followed an illustrious career at Iowa, where he was a First Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-American selection in 2019.
Tampa Bay will surely like to have him around longer. But nonetheless, hopefully those finances are tidied up.
[ESPN]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022