Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs– Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Are the Bucs going to bring in a veteran to compete with the younger guys for the LT position after Tristan Wirfs’ knee injury? They have to, right?

ANSWER: Tampa Bay could very well bring in another veteran offensive tackle due to Tristan Wirfs’ recent knee surgery. First, the Bucs will reassess the left tackle position heading into training camp once the veterans report on July 22. That’s when Wirfs will undergo a medical evaluation on his right knee, and any post-surgery swelling should have gone down so that team doctors can get a clean MRI and gauge his progress. At that point, the Bucs will likely place Wirfs on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list for camp, and here’s what that entails.

On the active PUP list, Wirfs will count against the 90-man training camp roster, which would normally mean the Bucs would only have 89 players available for camp. But offensive tackle Lorenz Metz is a foreign player, so Tampa Bay has a roster exemption for him and the team will still be at 90 players for camp.

Former Browns LT Jedrick Wills Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

When roster cutdowns occur after the preseason, Wirfs will be on the active 53-man roster at that time for one day. Then, the team will likely put him on the reserve/PUP list to have him not account against the 53 for the start of the season, which would make him ineligible for the first three games of the year. If the Bucs put Wirfs on short-term injured reserve with a designation to return, he would still have to miss the first three games of the season, as that used to be four games until a recent rule change.

So with Wirfs possibly missing the first three games of the season, will they sign another veteran offensive tackle? That would seem like the best course of action. Aside from Wirfs and Goedeke, the Bucs list six other players as offensive tackles on their roster, including Metz, veteran newcomer Charlie Heck, who will likely be the swing tackle this year, along with undrafted free agent Ben Chukwuma, Silas Dzanzi, Raiqwon O’Neal and Garrett Greenfield. With 24 career starts from his days in San Francisco, Arizona and Houston, only Heck has starting experience in the NFL.

Heck received all of the first-team reps in the OTAs and mini-camp with Wirfs sidelined and enters camp as Wirfs’ replacement. If something were to happen to Heck or Goedeke in camp or the preseason, the Bucs would be forced to start an inexperienced offensive tackle. Former Cleveland first-rounder Jedrick Wills Jr. is still available and has 57 career starts, including a few years where he blocked for Baker Mayfield when he was with the Browns. Wills has dealt with a lot of injuries the last two years, limiting him to just 12 starts, but might be the best option from an experience standpoint.

QUESTION: What’s the plan for Elijah Klein? I know all the starting O-line is set, but is he going to be “only” a guard backup or does the coaching staff has something more in mind?

ANSWER: The Bucs are still high on Elijah Klein, who has spent the 2025 offseason developing physically in Tampa Bay’s strength and conditioning program. He still has a promising future with the team although there currently isn’t a pathway for him becoming a starter. Klein is expected to provide depth at guard and center after spending his rookie season being cross-trained at both positions.

Robert Hainsey, the team’s veteran backup center last year, has moved on to Jacksonville, so there is a void to be filled. Jake Majors, an undrafted free agent from Texas, has impressed in the offseason and could be the front-runner for Hainsey’s former role. The team is anxious to see Majors in pads and how he performs in the preseason.

Bucs G Elijah Klein – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But Klein will likely see time at both guard and center in camp and in the preseason. Klein got the opportunity to start at right tackle in last year’s preseason game at Jacksonville and he performed well. Yet the team doesn’t see him playing tackle – just along the interior offensive line.

Left guard Ben Bredeson was signed to a three-year deal this offseason and right guard Cody Mauch has two more years left on his contract. If Klein continues to develop and impress he could eventually unseat Bredeson in a year or two or replace Mauch if the team doesn’t re-sign him in free agency in 2027. But until then, Klein needs to push to be the primary guard – and perhaps the center – off the bench in case of injury this year.

QUESTION: The Bucs tried to upgrade their weaknesses like inside linebacker and cornerback, but I didn’t hear anything about the punter position. How is the situation going into training camp? Do the Bucs have a battle for the job?

ANSWER: Yes, the Bucs added two punters this offseason after going through three punters last year during the regular season. The punting job was a revolving door in 2024 with the team finally giving up on Jake Camarda, a former fourth-round pick who was too inconsistent for the team’s liking over his last two seasons in Tampa Bay. Trenton Gill and Jake Browning didn’t fare any better, and the Bucs didn’t have a punter that had a net average of 40 yards during the 2024 season.

So the Bucs decided to completely turn over the position and start fresh. The team signed veteran Riley Dixon, who is entering his 10th season in the NFL, and he’s the favorite to win the job. Dixon had a pair of two-year stints in Denver and then four seasons with Giants and current Bucs special teams coach Thomas McGaughey, who served in the same capacity in New York while Dixon was there.

Bucs P Riley Dixon – Photo by: USA Today

The 31-year old Dixon signed a two-year, $6 million contract in Tampa Bay with $3 million guaranteed. That amount of guaranteed money, plus Dixon’s experience, likely cements him as the Bucs’ punter during the 2025 season. Dixon has a career average of 45.9 yards per punt with a 40.9-yard net average.

Yet Tampa Bay also added punter Jake Julien to the competition this offseason. Julien is younger at age 26, and has a booming leg. He arrives from the Canadian Football League, where he averaged 54 yards per punt. We’ll see if Julien can pull off an upset and beat out an experienced veteran in training camp. Either punter seems like an upgrade over what the team had last year.

QUESTION: I’ve always been a huge Karl “The Truth” Williams fan. Can you share a story of his? Thank you!

ANSWER: I absolutely loved covering Karl “The Truth” Williams during his time in Tampa Bay. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound Williams was an undersized wide receiver and punt returner that played for the Bucs from 1996-2004, and helped the Bucs go to the playoffs five times and win Super Bowl XXXVII during the 2002 season. His five punt return touchdowns are the most in franchise history and he averaged 10.7 yards per return during his Bucs tenure.

Williams was also a reliable depth receiver, totaling 137 catches for 1,700 yards (12.4 avg.) and seven touchdowns. His best season came in 1997 with 33 receptions for 487 yards (14.7 avg.) and four touchdowns during Tampa Bay’s 10-6 season. Williams scored the game-winning touchdown in Week 5 against Arizona to help the Bucs improve to 5-0 to start the season.

Former Bucs PR-WR Karl Williams – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

My favorite Williams story came in 1998 at the end of Tampa Bay’s 16-13 home win over Carolina in Week 6. Back then, the media was allowed to come down from the press box and watch the final four minutes of the game from the sidelines. I remember standing at about the 5-yard line in the southwest corner of the end zone and seeing Williams race past a Panthers cornerback and hauling in a perfect pass from Trent Dilfer to score a 29-yard game-winning touchdown with 1:47 remaining.

I remember hearing the ball literally whistle through the air before Williams hauled it in. The noise in the stadium hung about 15 yards above the field until Williams caught the pass near the goal line and scored. Then, the noise from the fans came crashing down to the grass as the stadium erupted with Williams’ score. I was about 10 yards away from him as he yelled with excitement and celebrated with his teammates.

That was one of the coolest, most up-close football moments in my 30 years of covering the Bucs. Williams was a very humble, hard-working, hustling underdog from little ol’ Texas A&M-Kingsville. He totaled 5,408 yards between receiving, rushing, punt return and kick return yards and wound up being one of the most productive Bucs of all-time, ranking No. 50 on Pewter Report’s list.