The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their star offensive line and building block left tackle, Tristan Wirfs, to a knee procedure over the Summer. While he may be close to returning as he avoided being placed on the PUP list, he is not playing just yet as the team gets ready to kick off for Week 1.
While the team had been in the corner of free agent left tackle Charlie Heck during training camp and preseason, something seemingly changed. Thus, general manager Jason Licht made a shocking announcement on the Bucs radio network just before kickoff.
Senior Writer and Editor for the team reported that while speaking to the radio broadcast before the game, center Graham Barton would be the starting left tackle instead of Heck. Guard Ben Bredeson would move to center, and Michael Jordan would be the starting guard, replacing Bredeson.
For Bucs fans who are unaware, Barton played center as a Freshman at Duke, but was the team’s starting left tackle for his final three seasons at Durham. He is a veteran of the position, having garnered the NFL’s attention at it, and he can be trusted to protect quarterback Baker Mayfield and help the running game from this position.
If anything, his athleticism that we have seen on the interior should be flexed even more with the extra space he will be given on the outside now.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs make a last-minute change to their offensive line ahead of Week 1 kick off
Reporting by Andrew Harbaugh, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
