Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs owns a power skill set and athleticism to stonewall pass rushers and piledrive linebackers in the run game. On Sunday, he finally got to show off soft hands as well.
The sixth-year OT caught his first career touchdown pass, a 2-yard toss from Baker Mayfield for the Bucs' first TD in a much-needed 20-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals, which snapped Tampa’s three-game losing skid.
The TD was a long time coming for the 26-year-old, who spent three seasons at Iowa before the Bucs made him the No. 13 overall pick in 2020. His last TD came in high school, at Mount Vernon, Iowa.
“It was in high school. I blocked a punt and then scooped and scored,” Wirfs said, via the team’s official transcript. “That was my last touchdown, so it was nice to get back in the end zone.”
Wirfs is the first offensive lineman to catch a touchdown pass in 2025, and the first since Lions’ Dan Skipper in Week 15, 2024. He’s the first Bucs O-lineman to score a TD since Leonard Wester in 2017 (from Jameis Winston).
Prior to Sunday, Wirfs had zero career catches, with his only 9 yards of recorded offense coming off an end-of-half lateral play last season.
While it was the All-Pro’s inaugural TD, it wasn’t the only time Mayfield has hit an O-lineman for a score. The Bucs QB also found Kendall Lamm for a touchdown in 2020 with the Cleveland Browns. Mayfield joined Patrick Mahomes (2) as the only players with multiple regular-season passing TDs to an O-lineman since 2018, when Mayfield entered the league.
“It’s crazy, all week he was giving me floaters, and he kind of threw me a bullet, so I was kind of nervous, I was like, ‘Don’t drop it,’” Wirfs quipped. “But I was excited, I saw (Cardinals safety) Budda Baker run to the right and was like, ‘Oh my gosh he might throw it to me.’ I was kind of nervous that Budda was going to [hit] me. I thought he might have shot right out of it. But no, it was awesome, you know, catching a touchdown in the NFL, it’s a pretty cool feeling.”
The score wasn’t some blowout-capper either. It was a crucial TD early in a contest that saw both sides get off to a wobbly start. It also came in a game that Tampa desperately needed to win, as the Carolina Panthers sit a half-game back in the NFC South.
The 7-5 Bucs face the New Orleans Saints (2-10) and Atlanta Falcons (4-8) the next two weeks before finishing up against Carolina (7-6) in two of the final three weeks (with the Miami Dolphins sandwiched in between).