Tristan Wirfs has spent his NFL career at right tackle, but with the Buccaneers deciding to move on from Donovan Smith, Wirfs will move to left tackle this season.
The Bucs made Wirfs the 13th overall selection in 2020, and in three seasons at right tackle, he made two Pro Bowls and once was named All-Pro. He wonders, like everybody else, if he can do the same at left tackle.
“Every day,” Wirfs said Tuesday, via Greg Auman of Fox Sports. “I have very high expectations of myself. I don’t want to let anybody else down, so it’s just doing my best to keep those thoughts positive, to kind of just take every day as an opportunity to get better. I think about that all day, every day.”
Wirfs played only four games at left tackle at Iowa out of the 33 he started. Every snap he’s taken in the NFL, in all 52 games, has been at right tackle.
So, it’s taking reps and time for him to get comfortable on the left side. He’s not there yet.
Everything is an adjustment, including his weight placement and which hand he’s using against an oncoming pass rusher.
“I’ve had thousands of reps on the right side, and I’m going in as a newborn baby on the left,” Wirfs said. “It’s all different. It’s so similar. You’re doing the same stuff, but it’s all flipped.”
