Tristan Wirfs was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft and made an immediate impact blocking for the greatest quarterback of all-time Tom Brady at right tackle, helping the team reach the playoffs and collecting their second-ever Lombardi Trophy in his rookie season.
Since Wirfs’ early success, he has seen the team transition from Brady to Baker Mayfield while also switching positions from right tackle to blocking Mayfield’s blindside on the left side. Wirfs and Mayfield have not only grown their relationship on the field since the latter’s arrival in Tampa, but off the field as it has become well documented that the two are close friends even having their children around the same time in 2024.
Following the Pro Bowl and leading up to Super Bowl LIX, Wirfs sat down with The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov where he spoke on a number of topics including his transition from working with Brady to working with Mayfield and the relationship that has blossomed in such a short period of time.
“Yeah, I thought it went pretty smooth. I mean Baker came in and kind of just won everyone over, just with being who he is, you know? His personality is incredible and he’s a baller. He’s a dawg,” Wirfs said. “It was really cool for me, you know. I mean, basically [Baker] is a little bit older than me, but, like, somebody — Tom was 22 years older than me — so like having somebody my age and that I could hang out with, go to dinner with, just all that stuff. So I think that really helped us click off the bat.”
Wirfs went on to add, “I thought it was a really smooth transition. You know Bake’s my quarterback. I’ll ride or die for him. It’s pretty awesome, I love him to death.” You can watch Wirfs’ full interview with Ari Meirov below.
Ultimately, Mayfield is one of the guys, and that is something that Wirfs pointed out when speaking with Meirov about the transition from Brady to Mayfield. While the age gap is obvious, the two most recent Buccaneers quarterbacks couldn’t be much further apart when it comes to their personalities or leadership.
While Brady was a tough son of a you-know-what, he led by example while placing pressure on his players to perform the best to their abilities. Meanwhile, Baker shows his love for the game on the field and wants his guys to have fun playing the game along with him. Both quarterbacks were, and have been, great for the franchise in their respective times here and Wirfs couldn’t be more appreciative for each for their impact on him and the trajectory of his career.
