TAMPA, Fla. — Buccaneers offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs is considered one of the best in the NFL.
This season, Wirfs will move from right tackle to left tackle, taking over the most important position on the offensive line. He said the move involves much more than taking a few steps down the line.
"On the right side, I feel like I could see everything. And when I moved over, it was like I had blinders on," Wirfs said after Friday's practice. "Really getting used to that, and kinda my spacial awareness has been big. It’s gotten a lot better. I feel more comfortable."
The 24-year-old said the biggest adjustment to switching positions has been the mental one. He revealed that his mind would race with negative scenarios about how he could fail in his new role.
"I was in a really rough spot mentally. I was really nervous," Wirfs admitted. "I was like playing the season in my head over and over again, 'What if it goes this way?'"
Wirfs, the Bucs first-round pick in 2020, said speaking with a sports psychologist helped change his mindset and the way he approached the game of football.
"So just to be able to get things off your chest and let somebody in that’s there to help. It’s so much easier to let it out and turn those negatives into positives," Wirfs added. "It’s a hard thing to do."
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles knows exactly what he has in his fourth-year pro, and he said there's no one he'd rather have watching the back of his quarterback.
"He’s a good football player. If you put him somewhere, he’ll challenge himself to be the best he can be at it," Bowles said after Friday's workout. "We’re comfortable with him over there. He’s very comfortable over there. Nobody better to protect your blindside."
