TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles ruled out All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs for Sunday's game at the Miami Dolphins because of a toe injury. Wirfs was able to finish this past week's game at the Carolina Panthers but was unable to practice this week.
"[Benjamin Chukwuma] will play left tackle this time," Bowles said Friday. "We liked what we saw last time, so a chance to play and get better."
Chukwuma only played one snap this past week -- as an extra offensive lineman at the goal line -- but he has played 79 offensive snaps this season and started against the New Orleans Saints, allowing just one pressure and no sacks. Wirfs had missed that game with an oblique injury and he missed the first three weeks of the regular season after undergoing offseason knee surgery.
The Bucs will also be without outside linebacker Anthony Nelson, because of a knee injury he suffered at the Panthers, and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who started his 21-day practice window this week after sustaining a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2.
Outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul will see an increased workload to account for Nelson's absence in what has become a must-win situation. Should the Bucs lose either of their next two games, they will not reach the postseason for the first time since 2019.
