Playoff romp comes at a cost as Tristan Wirfs exits with ankle injury The Bucs' injury outbreak now has hit a unit previously presumed to be immune. Two days after becoming the first offensive lineman in franchise history to be named an all-pro, right tackle Tristan Wirfs exited after the game's fifth play with an ankle injury. He limped back onto the field late in the second quarter, but was outmuscled on his third play back by defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, who sacked Tom Brady for a 9-yard loss. Wirfs never reappeared, and coach Bruce Arians had no immediate update on his status. "Tristan, he's our anchor," tight end Rob Gronkowski said. "The guy's a beast. He's got bigger quads than Quadzilla out there, that's how big they are. He's a great dude, too, great teammate, and hopefully it's nothing serious because he did try to come back in the game." Also dinged up, at least briefly, was center Ryan Jensen, who limped off the field on his own power following Ke'Shawn Vaughn's 1-yard scoring run late in the first quarter. Jensen re-entered the next offensive series. Prior to Sunday, Wirfs - also one of three Bucs offensive linemen to earn Pro Bowl nods - hadn't missed a snap in his two-season career. He, Jensen and left guard Ali Marpet all recently were named to the Pro Bowl for the first time. "Hopefully we can keep our offensive line intact because I think they're the best in football, Tristan especially," Arians said. "They'll be working on that ankle non-stop." Joey Knight, The Tampa Times, published 17 January 2022