Buccaneers make Wirfs highest-paid O-lineman

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs have reached agreement on a five-year, $140.63 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday.

The deal includes $88.24 million guaranteed, a source said, the most guaranteed money for any offensive tackle in the league.

The Buccaneers announced the five-year extension Thursday. The team did not disclose the value of the deal but confirmed that Wirfs received the largest deal for an NFL offensive tackle and the largest in Buccaneers history.

Wirfs, a three-time Pro Bowler, was in the final year of his rookie contract and slated to play under the fifth-year option that paid $18.24 million this year. He now is contractually tied to Tampa Bay through 2029.

His $28.1 million salary passes the $28 million per year that the Detroit Lions‘ Penei Sewell received in April.

Wirfs, 25, reported to mandatory minicamp in June but did not participate as not to risk injury. He was then kept out of team padded periods of practice for precautionary reasons as the sides worked on the new contract. Coach Todd Bowles had said earlier this week that both sides were negotiating in “good faith.”

On Monday, Wirfs thanked his teammates for supporting him during the negotiation process, saying, “Baker [Mayfield] has had my back, everyone’s had my back this whole time. There’s no bad blood anywhere. But I was like, I’ve got to be out here with the guys, I’ve got to do something.”

He said that deals by Sewell and Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw helped move things along.

Also on Thursday, top outside linebacker YaYa Diaby was carted off the field during training camp practice with what coach Todd Bowles said was a left ankle injury.

“He has an ankle. That’s all we know right now,” Bowles said. “We’ll see what the prognosis is as we go forward and it takes some more tests.”

The injury occurred during the two-minute drill at the end of practice. Several teammates kneeled as the cart came out onto the middle of the field.

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said Diaby would undergo more testing Thursday afternoon, but “we’re hopeful that we avoided something very serious.”

The Buccaneers have given out two $100 million deals this offseason, along with the three-year, $100 million deal they signed with Mayfield in March. They also gave Antoine Winfield Jr. a four-year, $84.1 million contract that made him the highest-paid safety in the NFL and signed wide receiver Mike Evans to a two-year, $41 million contract.

Wirfs was a first-team All-Pro in 2021 and a second-team selection in 2022. He joined the Buccaneers as a first-round pick out of Iowa in 2020.

“It’s pretty surreal to think about it,” Wirfs said when asked to reflect on the past four years. “I feel like a completely different person almost, especially being able to go see my son after meetings are done. It’s a crazy feeling. You look back, and it’s like, where have four years gone? I remember my first camp out here with Tom [Brady], like ‘I’m in the huddle with Tom Brady right now.’ Now it’s Baker Mayfield, Luke Goedeke, my best friends — [Robert] Hainsey, ‘Schooly’ [Justin Skule]. It’s been an incredible journey. A lot left ahead, and I’m excited for it.”