Tristan Wirfs Said His Hamstring Is Fine
September 18th, 2026
Physically fine.
There really aren’t any proper superlatives in the King’s English to describe what an unreal player Tristan Wirfs has been for the Bucs since he was plucked in the draft in 2020.
The fact he became the game’s very first player to be named All-Pro at both right and left tackle says it all. In many ways, Joe believes Wirfs has set the standard for tackles, past, current and future.
So when Wirfs plays anything close to a mortal human being, it’s jarring to the system. That’s the ridiculous standard he has set. Anything less than elite and people start wondering if Wirfs is slipping.
(For example, when Chase Young last year blew past Wirfs for a sack of Baker Mayfield, Joe did a double-take and then checked to make sure that really was No. 78 on the field.)
By any human being’s standards, Wirfs had a good game last Sunday in Cincinnati. By Wirfs’ standards, it was mediocre. Maybe.
That’s a windy way of Joe saying Wirfs didn’t look himself on Sunday. Naturally, this has led to Bucs fans whispering questions about Wirfs.
Whenever Wirfs looks less than perfect, people start wondering what is wrong.
Wirfs basically had no training camp. He injured a hamstring the day before training camp opened running an agility drill. That hamstring was slow to heal as Wirfs barely got in any practice snaps until after the worthless preseason was finished.
So given how Wirfs was not the Wirfs against the Bengals that we all know and love, could his hamstring still be bothering him?
Wirfs wasn’t his All-Pro self last year either and Joe chalked that up to his knee surgery and how he didn’t get back on a practice field until Week 3 of the regular season.
So yesterday when Wirfs spoke with the local pen and mic club, Joe asked him if he still had any lingering issues related to his hamstring injury this summer.
Wirfs told Joe there were zero issues. His hamstring was fine. He’s 100 percent, he said.
“No, no. It felt good! Felt good,” Wirfs said in a chipper, yet adamant tone. “It felt good to be back out there and move around at full speed. It was good.”
Well, that’s good to know. Maybe Wirfs is still catching up from all the time he missed this summer? You know, rust?
Wirfs also mentioned that Mayfield’s helmet headset issues really put the offensive line in a bind last Sunday so maybe that was a factor?
Either way, as Joe stated previously, that’s the crazy standard that Wirfs has set for himself. Anything less than perfection and Bucs fans begin to sweat, wondering what’s wrong with one of the best players in franchise history.
September 18th, 2026 at 5:53 am
Ya well he wasn’t the Wirfs “we know and love” all of last yr either. Let me ask a question, when the quarterback is getting ready to throw the ball, he gets hit in the arm, then fumbles, how should the percentage of the blame get divvy’d up? Should the qb hold on to the ball? Sure. Would I like for the quarterback to, you know, not get pressured half the game because this supposedly top 5 offensive line had a bad game against a below average defensive line? That would be nice. I’ve seen speculation that maybe Mayfield held on to the ball too long, or maybe it’s “field of vision” (lol -he’s 6-1, tall enough) well then show me. I would love for someone to show me this on film. Otherwise – it’s speculation, because what my eyes see is the qb having to break pocket and run for half the game. Let’s maybe start there by protecting the quarterback. Maybe a play shouldn’t breakdown in the redzone so that Mayfield isn’t having to try to run it in to the goal line himself – that would be a little more ideal
September 18th, 2026 at 6:28 am
Sure did not look like a future HOFer on Sunday
September 18th, 2026 at 6:58 am
If that helmet was such a problem, why not call a timeout and discuss it with the refs. I remember last year, they always barely got the play off. What’s the deal? Does Mayfield stutter in the huddle? Bucs just that disorganize? We will see on Sunday.
September 18th, 2026 at 7:49 am
Maybe, just Maybe Joe the preseason isn’t “worthless ” after all!! These guys all needed more time against real live bullets and it showed
September 18th, 2026 at 7:54 am
Kidfloflo Totally agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
September 18th, 2026 at 8:35 am
The hamstring. The hamstring. The hamstring. So sick of excuses. Look, he had one job: come to camp in shape. He didn’t.
Hamstring injuries are due to lack of conditioning.
So I’m not giving him a coloring book and a back rub. He’s a man. He knows what he did. And what he didn’t do.
But this I expect: He is probably embarrassed and will make up for this.
September 18th, 2026 at 8:47 am
I hope they watched the tape with how bad they all sucked Sunday. Wirfs looked like a damn turnstile. They all should be pissed off with how poorly they all played.
September 18th, 2026 at 8:48 am
He has regressed it’s been like this for some time
September 18th, 2026 at 8:52 am
Wirfs started off with a joke when asked about the hamstring but you really couldn’t hear it. Any idea what he said? Something like ‘Did it look like I was playing injured’ or something like that. I wasn’t clear what he said.
September 18th, 2026 at 9:21 am
TW, maybe Cam was right. Drop some lbs, you are too heavy.
September 18th, 2026 at 9:40 am
If helmet-to-coach communications was so important, why did we not have a backup system? If technology is a critical path, technology can go down, so hand signals, player shuttling, or other techniques should have been practiced and invoked. For heaven’s sake, we didn’t have helmet-to-coach communications 10 years ago, and we still had good execution.
September 18th, 2026 at 9:51 am
“Any idea what he said? Something like ‘Did it look like I was playing injured’ or something like that.”
The team muted the word, so I think he kind of asked with a semi-dead pan if his hamstring “looked sh*tty”
September 18th, 2026 at 10:47 am
There were concerns about last year’s play too. I don’t know if he has looked quite the same since the knee injury. It’s possible that he never will and it’s just a new born and potential gradual decline until an early retirement. Bone one bone almost never fully heals. It’s experimental stuff you hope works
September 18th, 2026 at 11:04 am
*norm not born
September 18th, 2026 at 11:26 am
Kidfloflo, thank you for saying it. Preseason is not at all “worthless”. Yes, you don’t want to have injuries in games that don’t count, but injuries happen all the time outside of games that do count. Sean Tucker, most recently. Yeah, McMillan’s injury last year was terrible, but he also missed a lot of time this year from an injury in camp.
These guys don’t tackle live anymore or practice in pads or have two-a-days. The first 3-4 games are now used to get into football shape and figure out the mechanics of the game. Would love to see starters play 2-3 series in game 1 and a full half or more in game 2.
September 18th, 2026 at 11:41 am
There was a short shot on TV of Wirfs looking at the Ipad. He looked to be ticked off as he put it away. My take is he was not happy with his own play. If I were a betting man, I would bet that Wirfs goes for some redemption this week. O sacks 0 pressures and run the ball behind him if I am Zak.
Go Bucs!
September 18th, 2026 at 11:53 am
Yes, preseason games are worthless. Training camp, on the other hand, is not worthless.
September 18th, 2026 at 12:49 pm
Tristan looks good to me. Real good. I don’t agree with anyone on here saying our OLine was bad last week. A little rusty- heck, they haven’t played together since 2024!
If we are worried about Tristan and the OLine carrying their share of the load, we haven’t got a thing to worry about.
The Joes and Ira were talking about our running and passing stats combined were third best in the league last week- Shanahan, Coen, and Zac Robinson were in the top three! Listen to the podcast!
We were in that offensive company last week and you don’t do that kind of thing without a kicka$$ offensive line. If Baker and Bucky hang onto the football, we win that game by 2 touchdowns or better.
NEXT!!!
September 18th, 2026 at 10:23 pm
Wirfs > fat contract > regressed
McCollum > fat contract > regressed
Winfield > fat contract > regressed
Anyone noticing a pattern?