The countdown to the Bucs’ 2026 season is on. Right now, we’re:

67 days away from Bucs regular season kickoff
37 days away from Bucs preseason kickoff
21 days away from Bucs training camp

In the lead-up to training camp, Pewter Report’s Bailey Adams will be diving into storylines for 26 key figures who will be crucial to the Bucs’ success in 2026.

Today, the series continues with right tackle Luke Goedeke, who is the final member of the offense we’ll focus on in the series.

Can The Bucs Count On A Healthy Luke Goedeke In 2026?

The Bucs’ injury problems in recent years have been well documented. And while they’ve had more obvious examples of players they could/can reasonably expect to miss a few games or more each season — think Jamel Dean in the past, Calijah Kancey throughout the start of his career and Benjamin Morrison more recently — Goedeke is a sneaky part of that list as well. Tampa Bay’s right tackle is unfortunately one of those guys who has also missed chunks of time relatively frequently throughout his career.

Goedeke missed four games during his 2022 rookie season with a foot injury and didn’t play in two others after that, though whether that was based on his performance at guard prior to the injury or he still wasn’t fully recovered is subject to debate — or clarification that we may never get.

Upon his move to right tackle in 2023, Goedeke started all 17 games for Tampa Bay during the regular season as well as both of the team’s playoff games. That was a positive sign, but two years later and four years into his career overall, that remains the only full season he’s managed to play.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Goedeke missed four games early in the 2024 season after entering concussion protocol following the Bucs’ Week 1 game. Then, in 2025, Goedeke left Tampa Bay’s Week 2 game after further aggravating a foot injury he suffered the previous week. He was then placed on injured reserve and missed the team’s next six games before returning after the bye week.

Overall, Goedeke has played in 52 of a possible 68 games over the course of his career. Even accounting for the games in his rookie year that he could’ve been sidelined for due to performance, he’s missed at least four games in three of his four seasons with the Bucs. And that’s a shame, as Goedeke has turned into quite the player since his move to right tackle. Tampa Bay will hope that he can play a full season — or close to it — in 2026, as the Bucs offensive line is obviously at its best when he’s on the field with the rest of the starting unit.

Can Luke Goedeke Keep Shutting Out Opposing Pass Rushers?

Goedeke’s move to guard after he was drafted out of Central Michigan in 2022 didn’t go as he or the Bucs hoped it would, but he’s been a completely different player since returning to the position he played at the collegiate level. Late in his rookie year, he made brief cameos at right tackle and looked right at home, and that prompted Tampa Bay to return him to that position in 2023 when it moved Tristan Wirfs from right tackle to left tackle.

Goedeke went from a season at guard that saw him earn PFF grades of 46.7 overall, 47.8 run blocking and 46.7 pass blocking to a 2023 season at right tackle that featured grades of 73.4, 70.0 and 72.5, respectively. That year, he allowed six sacks and 44 total pressures over 730 pass blocking opportunities. A year later, his grades jumped again, rising to 73.6, 75.7 and 76.8, respectively. In 2024, he allowed just three sacks and 17 total pressures over 531 opportunities.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In 2025, Goedeke had his best year yet despite the time he missed with that foot injury. He finished with a career-high 75.8 overall grade, a 72.9 run blocking grade and a career-high 78.9 pass blocking mark. It’s easy to see why he earned such a high pass blocking grade, as opposing pass rushers simply couldn’t beat him. Over 384 pass blocking opportunities, Goedeke didn’t allow a single sack. He didn’t even allow a single quarterback hit. He gave up just 22 total pressures, all of which went down as hurries.

It was just the latest step forward for Goedeke in what has been a meteoric rise over the last three years. But now the question is whether he can keep shutting down opposing pass rushers week in and week out. Because the Bucs already have one of the best tackle duos in the NFL in Goedeke and left tackle Tristan Wirfs, a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro. But if Goedeke has truly reached that shutdown level and carries that high level of play into 2026, it’ll be absolutely massive for Tampa Bay’s offense. It’ll feel like a cheat code having two tackles who handle pass rushers so well.

Bucs OTs Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs will face plenty of pass rushing talent in 2026, so Goedeke will continue to be tested. There’s Jared Verse in Week 2, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig in Week 6, Jaelan Phillips in Weeks 7 and 12 and the young duo of Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. (depending on any discipline from the NFL for his off-field troubles) in Weeks 8 and 16. There’s also Montez Sweat in Week 9, Aidan Hutchinson in Week 11, Khalil Mack in Week 13, Trey Hendrickson in Week 14 and Myles Garrett and Byron Young in Week 17. That’s a lot for Goedeke and Wirfs to deal with. Are they up to the task?

Probably.

Will 2026 Be The Year That Luke Goedeke Earns League-Wide Notoriety?

Bucs fans have come to know and love Goedeke during the last three years, but has the league taken notice yet? Maybe to an extent, as Tampa Bay does get a lot of love for its tackle duo being up there with the best of them. Opponents have certainly come to know Goedeke very well, and at this point, he’s surely earned their respect. But is there an even higher level of recognition No. 67 can reach in his fifth NFL season? There has to be.

A year after signing a four-year, $90 million contract extension to stick with the Bucs, Goedeke will be looking to gain even more respect both from the opposition and the NFL world as a whole. Another year like the one he had in 2025, especially paired with a healthier season, will be hard to ignore.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Goedeke has been on a Pro Bowl trajectory over the last few years, so could this be the year it all comes to fruition to help him firmly establish himself among the NFL’s best tackles? There’s a lot of competition at the tackle position when it comes time for the Pro Bowl Games, with Tristan Wirfs being an obvious example in the very same locker room. But a healthy Goedeke — one who plays 15+ games — and a Goedeke who continues to shut down opposing pass rushers and maul would-be tacklers in the run game? You could see that guy in the mix for his first-ever Pro Bowl honors.

What about an even higher level of recognition? Wirfs is among the favorites to win the NFL’s Protector of the Year Award, which honors the best offensive lineman in the league each year. But is Goedeke a worthy longshot? His odds sit at +8000 right now, with 38 offensive linemen holding better odds than him. His are the same as 2026 rookies Francis Mauigoa and Vega Ioane. Are there 38 linemen better than Goedeke? Should his odds be at the same level as guys who have yet to play a down in the NFL? Argue whichever way you want, but it’s those kinds of narratives that the 6-foot-5, 312-pound right tackle will look to disprove in 2026.

As an offensive lineman, you know you’re in a relatively thankless position. So chances are, Goedeke doesn’t care whether he gets that league-wide notoriety and would rather see the Bucs win ball games than have praised heaped on him. A season similarly dominant to the one he just had will put Tampa Bay in a good position to win and the much-deserved recognition will simply come as a byproduct, right?

Catch Up On Previous Installments Of Bailey Adams’ 26 For ’26 Series

Baker Mayfield
Bucky Irving
Kenny Gainwell
Chris Godwin Jr.
Emeka Egbuka
Jalen McMillan
Cade Otton
Tristan Wirfs
Ben Bredeson
Graham Barton
Cody Mauch