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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open their defense of the NFC South crown Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Travelling to their closest division rival can be a tricky trip, as the Buccaneers have suffered their fair share of speed bumps in Atlanta. Winning at Mercedes Benz Stadium to open this season would be a big boost to Tampa Bay. However, that task just received an interesting wrinkle. Bucs GM Jason Licht revealed that the offensive line would receive a trio of changes in wake of left tackle Tristan Wirfs’ injury. The biggest among them is shifting usual starting center Graham Barton to left tackle, according to Buccaneers beat writer Scott Smith via X (formerly Twitter).
“General Manager Jason Licht just revealed on the Bucs’ radio pregame show that there will be some shifts on the offensive line,” reported Smith before the season opener. “Graham Barton will play left tackle, Ben Bredeson will play center, and Michael Jordan will play left guard.”
Two close losses to Atlanta last season were the major sticking points in a fourth straight division crown for the Buccaneers. Head coach Todd Bowles and his team are eager to put the ghosts of those 2024 defeats behind them. Meanwhile, the Falcons will look to exploit the same pressure points in this campaign’s matchups, beginning with Sunday’s opener. However, Tampa Bay is not the same team as least season. Can quarterback Baker Mayfield thrive behind a shuffled front five and trust the new unit to help him torch the Falcons in “Hot-lanta” Sunday afternoon?
Despite Barton and Bredeson’s positional changes, Mayfield trusts them. The duo is usually at center and left guard, but it’s clear that the Buccaneers trust Bredeson to handle center and Barton to lock down left tackle. Both players have previous experience playing their new positions. However, it’s clear that Wirfs’ injury does hurt the Bucs, at least to an extent.
The All-Pro left tackle is likely the best player at his position in the NFL. Furthermore, he’s in his prime, and can play both tackle spots at least a Pro Bowl level. Wirfs is incredibly valuable to the Buccaneers. Yet, Mayfield and his new offensive line won’t use the absence of Wirfs as an excuse Sunday. The goal is to beat the Falcons and start 1-0. Can the Bucs get it done? Don’t count them out just yet.
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