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When it was found out that Bucs starting left tackle Tristan Wirfs was out for the first week of training camp practice, it almost felt like it was deja vu. In 2025, Wirfs had offseason knee surgery that kept him out for all of training camp and the first three games of the season. Thankfully this time going into the 2026 season, it’s not as serious.

Wirfs tweaked his hamstring in condition drills a day before camp began and has been out ever since. There’s no timetable for his return as of yet according to head coach Todd Bowles, but of course Bucs fans held their breath over hearing that the team’s prized All-Pro left tackle was missing practice.

Bucs OL coach Kevin Carberry and LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs Have Great Depth At OT

While nobody wants to see Tristan Wirfs out for training camp, this is an opportunity for others to step up until he can return. The marquee players that are “next man up” are eight-year veteran Justin Skule, who previously played for Tampa Bay and then came back to the Bucs this year, and second-year tackle Ben Chukwuma.

Skule provides great depth and chemistry for Tampa Bay as he already knew most of the offensive line from his previous stay in Tampa and has 26 career starts in his career. But it’s Chukwuma that’s the real headliner.

Some know Chukwuma’s story by now. He grew up in Nigeria before moving to the United States at 17, and then walked onto Georgia State’s football team. He went undrafted and signed to Tampa Bay. At 6-foot-6 Chukwuma has gargantuan size and has a raw talent to the game as he is unpolished due to his lack of experience playing football.

The Bucs looked at Chukwuma as a developmental project. A player they could mold into eventually becoming a key contributor. But he got thrown into quicker than expected due to injuries all across the offensive line, including Wirfs and right tackle Luke Goedeke. He wound up starting in two games during Week 12 and 16 while also getting offensive snaps in games against Los Angeles, Atlanta and Carolina down the stretch.

Bucs LG Ben Bredeson and LT Ben Chukwuma – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs Head Coach Todd Bowles Praises Ben Chukwuma 

Ben Chukwuma held his own, but there was still a long way to go in his development. Fast forward to 2026 and Chukwuma is once again replacing Tristan Wirfs. Justin Skule has been in there, too, and is a good luxury to have in the event they want an experience player in. But Chukwuma has really caught the attention of head coach Todd Bowles, who sees the importance of all the snap that Chukwuma has received.

“I think the reps for him have been critical,” Bowles said of Chukwuma. “He made great strides last year. He’s got a lot of confidence this year. He’s a very good football player. He’s confident in the scheme now. He understands where everything goes, and it’s just a matter of reps. So, these are great reps for him with Tristan being down, going up against Yaya [Diaby] and [Rueben] Bain [Jr.] every day.

Bucs OT Ben Chukwuma – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“He looked very good – night and day from when he came in last year, obviously, because he’s been in the system, or somewhat the system, for a year. His confidence has grown from playing in ball games, so I think this is very valuable for him.”

There’s a chance Chukwuma could be a future starter for the Bucs, however, in the meantime he can provide important depth for the team. It’s quite difficult to find good depth at the offensive line position after the starters. Tampa Bay has the benefit of having two, especially with Chukwuma for hopefully years to come.

Pewter Report was at the latest Bucs training camp practice where we recapped the entire session on the Pewter Report Podcast. Check out the episode below and subscribe to our PewterReportTV YouTube channel.