TAMPA — All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs returned to practice in pads Monday for the first time since sustaining a hamstring injury on the day veterans reported to Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp three weeks ago, a critical step toward reassembling an offensive line that never played together last season.
“It’s time to ramp him up a little bit and see how much he can go through this week,” Head Coach Todd Bowles said. “Kind of see from there.”
Wirfs took part in individual-position drills during the team’s 110-minute session, which followed a weekend off after the Buccaneers’ 24-16 preseason win over the New York Jets on Friday night. His return is the most significant development in Tampa Bay’s effort to restore the 2024 starting offensive line — Wirfs, left guard Ben Bredeson, center Graham Barton, right guard Cody Mauch and right tackle Luke Goedeke — a unit that did not take a single snap together in 2025 after injuries decimated the group.
Quarterback Jake Browning also returned to practice Monday after missing time with a back ailment. Browning, who signed with the Buccaneers to serve as the primary backup to Baker Mayfield, had been slated to start Friday’s preseason opener but sustained the injury during a joint practice with the Jets earlier last week. He could make his Tampa Bay debut Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs. “He’s doing better,” Bowles said. “We’ll see how his week goes.”
Cornerback Benjamin Morrison, who has been fighting leg injuries since the offseason program, took snaps in 11-on-11 drills for the first time this summer after being limited to individual work in recent weeks. Bowles said a decision on Morrison’s availability for Saturday would come later in the week. “He’s progressing,” the coach said. “He did some things today, so we’ll look to see how he develops during the week. We’ll see how he progresses and we’ll make that determination on Friday.”
Wide receivers Emeka Egbuka (toe) and Jalen McMillan (knee) remained sidelined Monday. Bowles described both as day-to-day but added a week-to-week designation for Egbuka, saying he was “not sure at this time” whether the second-year receiver’s availability for the regular season would be affected.
The Buccaneers host the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday in their second preseason game, with the regular season opener set for September 13. If Wirfs continues to progress, Tampa Bay could enter that game with its preferred starting five on the offensive line intact for the first time in more than a year.