Tristan Wirfs switched from right tackle to left tackle in 2023, but that move didn't interrupt his rise to NFL stardom. After his play on the right side earned him Pro Bowl invitations after the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, his first year on the opposite side ends in the same place. Meanwhile, quarterback Baker Mayfield's impressive bounce-back season has earned him all-star honors for the first time in his career.
On Tuesday, the NFL announced that Wirfs and Mayfield had been named to the NFC Roster for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games, increasing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' number of all-star selections to three players. Wide receiver Mike Evans was included in the initial announcement of the Pro Bowl rosters, though he will not participate in the event due to injury.
Wirfs and Mayfield were initially two of the four Buccaneer alternates announced when the Pro Bowl rosters were revealed. Wirfs and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. were first alternates, while Mayfield was a third alternate and defensive tackle Vita Vea was a fifth. Wirfs is replacing San Francisco's Trent Williams after Williams' team won the NFC Championship game on Sunday to advance to Super Bowl LVIII. The third tackle on the original roster is Philadelphia's Lane Johnson. Mayfield is replacing Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, who is unable to participate due to injury.
Wirfs is the first Tampa Bay Buccaneer player to qualify for three straight Pro Bowls since defensive lineman Gerald McCoy made six in a row from 2012-17. Wirfs also joins fullback Mike Alstott as the only Buccaneers ever to get three Pro Bowl nods within the first four years of his career, and he ties center Tony Mayberry (1997-99) for the most overall all-star appearances by a Tampa Bay offensive lineman.
Mayfield is the sixth quarterback to make the Pro Bowl as a Buccaneer, joining Trent Dilfer (1997), Brad Johnson (2002), Jeff Garcia (2007), Jameis Winston (2015) and Tom Brady (2021). The first-overall pick in the 2018 draft, Mayfield was recently named the NFL's Most Improved Player by the Pro Football Writers of America and is one of five nominees for the league's Comeback Player of the Year award.
Wirfs' successful transition to left tackle was a key factor in the Buccaneers' run to a third consecutive NFC South title and fourth straight playoff season. Despite dealing with ankle, back and shoulder injuries in the season's stretch run, Wirfs started all 19 games, playoffs included, and did not miss a single offensive snap. He was not charged with a single holding call during the season.
The 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Wirfs has played in 63 of a possible 67 games in his first four seasons, starting them all. In addition to his three Pro Bowl selections, he was also a first-team Associated Press All-Pro in 2021 and a second-team choice in 2022. In those four years, he has anchored a Buccaneers offensive line that helped produce the second most passing yards in the NFL while also allowing the second fewest sacks.
In his first season with the Buccaneers, Mayfield started all 19 games, postseason included, and led the team to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. He threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns during the regular season, both career highs, and finished with a passer rating of 94.6. In the playoffs, he became the first quarterback in franchise history to throw for 300-plus yards and three touchdowns in a single game, and he did it in both the Wild Card round win over Philadelphia and the Divisional loss to Detroit.
Mayfield was intercepted just 10 times during the regular season and joined the Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott as the only quarterbacks in the NFL in 2023 to record at least 28 touchdown passes and 10 or fewer interceptions. He and Brady are the only quarterbacks in Tampa Bay franchise history to put together a season that included 4,000-plus passing yards, at least 25 touchdown passes and no more than 10 interceptions.
The 2024 Pro Bowl Games are set to take place February 1-4 in Orlando. The festivities will be broadcasted on ESPN, ABC, Disney XD, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes and NFL+.
