Tristan Wirfs is on a contract year playing on the 5th year option of his contract at the moment. As he awaits a new deal during contract discussions he has been limiting himself at practice and according to Jordan Schultz the two sides are “very far apart” from reaching an extension. Following offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw’s 4 year 113 million dollar contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings, Wirfs is looking to become the highest paid offensive tackle in the league.
Tristan Wirfs has garnered significant accolades throughout his career for such a young offensive tackle at only 25 years old. Since being drafted 13th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, he has made an impact on the Buccaneers that can not be understated. He played a crucial role in the team’s Super Bowl LV victory in 2021 protecting Tom Brady’s right side, being named first team all pro that year. His outstanding performances year in and year out have also earned him a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team, three pro bowl selections, and second team all pro in 2022. Last season was no slouch either for the Tampa Bay tackle playing over a thousand snaps while only allowing 5 sacks and having 6 penalties. He earned an 81.1 PFF grade still in what was seen as a “down year” for him, what to many others is a career season, further cementing his reputation as one of the league’s elite offensive linemen.
Wirf’s blend of athleticism, technique, and consistency makes him well deserving to get paid a ginormous contract. There is absolutely no question whether Tristan Wirfs should be given the contract or commitment, the question comes down to if the Buccaneers will get through with the negotiations and lockdown Wirfs for the long term. If these contract talks don’t come closer from the “miles apart” they’ve been described as then the Buccaneers will have no other choice than to trade their star offensive tackle while they still can get long term value out of him. Here are some of the top landing spots for Tristan Wirfs.
5. Arizona Cardinals:
A dark horse candidate to pursue Tristan Wirfs would be the Cardinals. Kyler Murray has a lot of questions heading into this year as the Cardinals have struggled in recent years and Kyler can’t stay healthy. If Arizona wants to invest into Kyler’s future then why not go out and make sure he’s properly protected. Jonah Williams has proved after many years in Cincinnati that he is a liability in pass protection, Kyler simply won’t stand a chance behind an offensive with mediocre interior linemen and a disappointing right tackle. The Cardinals have plenty of resources to go get Wirfs with all of their draft picks and a ridiculous amount of cap space with over 35 million cap this year and about 87 million in 2025, most in the league. The main issue with this landing spot is that if the Buccaneers are searching for a first round pick in return, then the Cardinals may not be interested believing they will be picking at the top end of the draft with or without Wirfs this upcoming season.
4. New York Jets:
The Jets seem like a fantastic candidate to go after the star right tackle. The Jets are relying on Aaron Rodgers who is 40 years old, coming off of a season where he played a total of 4 snaps before getting injured for the entire season following a sack. The Jets do have some good offensive tackles to try to keep Rodgers upright in Tyron Smith, Olu Fashanu, and Morgan Moses, however I do not believe that will be enough to go on a Super Bowl run with the Hall of Fame quarterback. Tyron Smith, the starting left tackle, dealt with 7 injuries last season alone. The injuries were no minor scratches either being in the knee, back, and neck. Smith is fantastic while on the field, but missing 37 games over the past 4 seasons and only getting older at 33 years old, is not a reliable option to protect Rodger’s blindside. Morgan Moses has also dealt with injuries and is 33 years old as well as the starting right tackle. The probability that the Jets will be down at least one of these starting tackles this season is likely, and neither of them are the answer for the future of the team either. Olu Fashanu is a fantastic rookie left tackle, but it would be in the Jets interest to keep him sidelined learning behind the veterans. If the Jets were to trade for WIrfs however, then all of the problems would be solved. They’d have their starting tackles of the future in Olu and Wirfs and they’d have a reliable and consistent tackle who has experience keeping a Hall of Fame quarterback upright while on a Super Bowl run. The Jets certainly could get the deal done, still having their 1st rounder in 2025, and having little commitments when it comes to cap space with over 57 million cap space in 2025 and over 117 million in 2026. If the Jets really are committed to going on a run this year, then why hesitate to go get arguably the best young pass protector in the league?
3. Los Angeles Rams:
The Rams are very clearly ready to compete. They have a Super Bowl winning veteran quarterback in Matthew Stafford, arguably the best wide receiver duo in the league with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, as well as an explosive young running back with Kyren Williams. The biggest question on their offense to me, is the left tackle. Alaric Jackson is the current starter at left tackle, and he simply didn’t look like a starting caliber player based off of last season, despite not allowing many sacks. On top of that Alaric got a minor injury yesterday in training camp, tweaking his ankle. The Rams still have a considerable amount of money in the future as well as their first rounder so if they wanted to make a splash they certainly could. They currently have over 33 million in cap space in 2025, so making a move for a guy like Wirfs wouldn’t be too much of a toll to handle. If the Rams really are hoping to make the jump back to being Super Bowl contenders there is no possible better way to slingshot up to that status than going out and getting one of the best offensive tackles in the league. Les Sneed very clearly hasn’t ever been afraid of moving on from a 1st round pick before, so why would he now.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Returning to Tampa is for sure the most likely outcome for Wirfs, however I don’t believe it would be the best scenario him when compared to some other options. Let us focus on this scenario for now though. Wirfs has been a cornerstone of the franchise since being drafted, assisting the team in winning a Super Bowl and being a team captain holding down the fort every season. Going back to Tampa would make him an all time franchise great as he’d look to stay a Buccaneer for life, however the roster is stuck at a middle point in which they likely will have too many wins to rebuild, yet too little difference makers to get another ring for the foreseeable future. It may be in Tristan’s best interest to hit the sweepstakes and find himself in a new city, but he is a true leader and may want to stick it out with his guys.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
This may be a very surprising team to have at the top of the list, but when looking deeper into the landing spot it seems like a perfect match for Wirfs. Trevor Lawrence has not been given a proper offensive line since he entered the league. On paper the unit looks solid, but left tackle always seems to be the Achilles heel as they can’t find a reliable option to hold up Sunshine’s (Trevor Lawrence) blindside. Cam Robinson is the starting left tackle of Jacksonville, and he always puts up good advanced numbers, but he can never stay healthy and makes crucial mistakes for Jacksonville when they need him most. In this scenario the Jaguars would trade their 1st round pick as well as Cam Robinson in return for Wirfs. Both of the offensive tackles swap teams and get to stay in the same state while swapping conferences. The Buccaneers get cheaper at left tackle while Cam gets a fresh start on a team that still is competing with a bright future, being the only team with more than one 1st round pick in the 2025 draft so far. The Jaguars on the other hand would have no 1st round pick for the first time in franchise history, signaling the start of the team finally going into win now mode. Owner of the Jaguars, Shad Khan clearly is not afraid to spend money handing out nearly half a billion dollars in extensions this offseason to Trevor Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen, and Tyson Campbell. Khan certainly isn’t going to shy away here, making Tristan Wirfs the highest paid offensive tackle in the league. The Jaguars certainly have enough cap space to make it work with over 20 million free in cap space both this and next season, and plenty more after that. It would cost a large deal to go get a guy of Tristan Wirfs caliber of course, but this is a move that could propel the Jacksonville Jaguars to be Super Bowl Champions for the first time in franchise history. That certainly would be the hope as the Jaguars were 8-3 and first in the AFC last year before a Trevor Lawrence injury when his left tackle stepped on Trevor’s ankle against the Bengals. Wirfs is going to prevent an injury to his quarterback better than anyone, certainly not the opposite. This perfect match of a trade leaves Tristan Wirfs getting paid, staying in Florida, going to the opposite conference, being on a much younger team, and still being a contender while protecting “The Prince” Trevor Lawrence.