The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night, after sharing the Jaguars' practice facility on Wednesday and Thursday, and both teams figured the midweek work was enough for their front-line players. Both teams rested almost all of their starters in what proved to be a 20-7 win by Jacksonville at EverBank Stadium.
That decision to keep starters out of harm's way created a bit of an issue for the Buccaneers at offensive tackle. With Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke cooling their heels on the sideline, the team would have normally started Brandon Walton and Justin Skule at the two tackle spots. But Skule was dealing with a minor injury, as was tackle Luke Haggard, who was the original plan to fill in on the right side. When the team ascertained that Haggard couldn't go, they had limited options at right tackle.
On Friday evening, they approached Elijah Klein, a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, with an idea.
"Before the game we learned that the guy who was going to start at right tackle wasn't going to be able to go," said Klein, who played his college ball at UTEP and primarily played guard. "So the coach came up to me and said, 'Hey, you've got to step up. You're starting at right tackle.'"
Klein in fact opened the game at right tackle, a position at which he hadn't taken a single snap since entering the NFL. The Bucs lost the game and didn't put up impressive offensive numbers, but the running game was on point from the beginning. Rookie Bucky Irving ran the ball just four times but all of them gained between four and six yards. Klein worked in tandem with the rest of the line to create cutback lanes that the team's ballcarriers took advantage of. Even with a busted play that lost five yards on the goal line in the fourth quarter, the Bucs still averaged 4.8 yards per carry.
"I think there were definitely some blips in there that I'd like to erase, but overall I'm pretty happy with what I put out there," said Klein.
View the top photos of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Preseason Week 2 game vs the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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After playing most of the first half at tackle, Klein then got an extended look at his natural position, right guard. Head Coach Todd Bowles was impressed with the rookie's outing.
"It's tough," said Bowles. "We put him in some tough spots he hadn't played in a while, late in the game especially. He's gritty, he's tough, he'll play anywhere and that says a lot about his character."
Klein chose to approach the surprising situation as a golden opportunity. As a Day Three draft pick, his roster spot is no certainty, though the season-ending injury to veteran guard Sua Opeta gave the Bucs more reason to wish for his success. With Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson set to start at the two guard spots, Klein is not likely to be in the lineup on opening day, but a display of versatility could help him have a helmet on each Sunday.
"I did have some reps at tackle in college but I haven't taken a snap at tackle since I came here, so it's definitely a daunting task," said Klein. "But I figured it was a positive situation overall. I figured that if I'm able to prove that I can handle playing tackle, it would make my value for this squad even better.
"I think that was one of my bigger draws entering the draft, the fact that I had five-position versatility. I'm just really excited that I'm getting a chance to show it because I wasn't sure I was ever going to get to play tackle, being a guard, but I just started a game there. It's awesome."
