Wednesday was the first official training camp practice for the Bucs in their 2025 season, which also meant it was the first practice where we knew that Tristan Wirfs would not be starting at left tackle since he is out with a knee injury. That also made it the first practice where Charlie Heck is by default the starter.
Only one day in, Heck seemed to hold his own while getting more reps than any other starter on the offensive line for obvious reasons. It’s an adjustment that the Bucs knew they’d have to make once they get word of the Wirfs news.
Charlie Heck Starts At LT For Now, But Not Guaranteed
Don’t write in Heck as the starter for Tampa Bay’s opening game of the regular season at Atlanta just yet. The Bucs did work out offensive tackle George Fant the day before and another on Wednesday. Todd Bowles said after practice on Wednesday that Heck is the starter for now until they get more looks at him.
“He is right now, it’s little early to tell out of pads,” Bowles said. “I have not seen him live in pads on our team. I’ve seen him on other teams, he’s a very good athlete. We have a different system so to speak with some of the things we do. You really won’t be able to tell until you get in pads but I know he’s a very good athlete and he’s very smart.”
Bucs OT Charlie Heck – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Along with Wirfs, offensive tackle Silas Dzansi is also on the PUP list, so the Bucs are pretty thin at offensive tackle. The rest of the starters are intact and have been working with Heck going back to OTAs and mini-camp, so it’s not completely like they haven’t worked with him before.
Starting right offensive guard Cody Mauch gave his observations about what he’s seen from Heck while also reflecting on not having Wirfs for the first couple of games this season.
“Just what I’ve seen from Charlie so far this offseason, Charlie’s been great,” Mauch said. “I’m excited for Charlie, he grinds out there, we’re working on things, it’s good. I’m excited about Charlie, the rest of us are excited about Charlie. Yeah, it sucks to have Tristan go down, but next man up mentality and Tristan will be back eventually. I don’t think we’re going to lose a whole lot of steam with Charlie.”
Bucs RG Cody Mauch – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
What Might Be Different In Bucs’ Offense?
Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo wrote an exceptional article recently about Heck’s insertion into the starting lineup, what he may look like, and how the team may adjust to protect him as well. Looking at when Wirfs was out in Week 11 of last season, the Bucs ran more “12” personnel, meaning they had two tight ends on the field together to help protect Justin Skule.
This could be the same type of game plan that the Bucs implement with Heck or whoever is starting a left tackle when the season begins. Bowles was asked about what changes may be coming and responded that they need to know the strengths and weaknesses of everyone first before coming to a decision.
Bucs GM & HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R
“That’s yet to be determined as we get Heck some reps, we want to see what he’s really good at, what he’s not,” Bowles said. And whoever comes behind him competing at that spot we want to see what they can and can’t do whether they’re going to require help or less help or a different type of run and pass options for us. Those things will determine themselves in training camp, but it definitely is hard to replace Tristan.”
