This past Monday, there were two NFL games for fans to watch. The earlier of the two kicked off at 7:00 p.m. EST. Tampa Bay was on the road to face Houston.
It took a game-winning touchdown drive for the Buccaneers to escape with a narrow 20-19 victory. While the team is 2-0, Tampa Bay’s offensive line continues to be ravaged by injuries. To begin the season, the team knew they would be without LT Tristan Wirfs. He’s recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery in July. Additionally, RT Luke Goedeke suffered an injury in Week 2. Starting RG Cody Mauch suffered a knee injury that will require surgery. His 2025 campaign is now over.
Can the Buccaneers survive until their offensive line gets healthy?
The #Bucs OL, a big strength, has been ravaged by injuries: Tristan Wirfs has yet to play with a knee injury, RT Luke Goedeke is dealing with a foot injury, and now G Cody Mauch is out for the year.
They also just lost DT Calijah Kancey for the season with a pectoral injury. https://t.co/ePq3m60XWX
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 18, 2025
The Buccaneers are going to face some adversity to begin the 2025 season. A strong offensive line is supposed to be one of Tampa Bay’s strengths. Two weeks into the season, they are without three of their five starting lineman. Tristan Wirfs suffered an injury during the offseason. He had arthroscopic knee surgery in July. NFL insiders expect Wirfs to make a return near Week 7.
Tampa Bay had to shuffle its offensive line, knowing Wirfs will miss time. Starting center Cody Barton is playing left tackle. Ben Bredeson was originally playing guard and is now playing center. Mike Jordan was elevated from the practice squad and is playing left guard. Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke were at their natural positions to begin the season.
Bucs starting right guard Cody Mauch suffered a season-ending knee injury Monday night, per source. Despite the injury, Mauch finished playing the game.
Bucs are expected to sign guard Dan Feeney off the Bills practice squad. pic.twitter.com/98zfzMkAc1
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 18, 2025
However, both Goedeke and Mauch suffered injuries in a Week 2 win. Goedeke will miss some time. We saw backup Charlie Heck come in and replace Goedeke on MNF. Starting right guard Cody Mauch played the entire game but popped up on the injury report for Week 3. Head coach Todd Bowles said Mauch could miss their Week 3 matchup vs. the Jets.
Unfortunately, Mauch was ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season with a knee injury. That’s absolutely brutal for the Buccaneers, who have already made several changes to the offensive line. With Mauch gone for the season, Tampa Bay will likely start Elijah Klien at RG. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft out of UTEP. Klien has never started a game before in the NFL. There’s a chance he starts the final 15 games of the 2025 season. Additionally, the Bucs signed Dan Feeney from Buffalo’s practice squad as offensive line depth.
