Todd Bowles didn’t need much time after Tampa Bay’s Week 7 win to zero in on Ben Chukwuma. The Buccaneers’ backup right tackle stepped into a starting role with Luke Goedeke sidelined by a calf injury, and the head coach came away impressed enough to put a bold label on the 25-year-old’s future.
“I thought 'Chuk' (Chukwuma) did a great job. I mean, you know, 258 yards rushing - all those guys up front did an outstanding job.
'Chuk,' with his first start this year coming in, did an outstanding job. He's got great size.
He's an athlete, and he's very strong, so the run game kind of benefits him.”
“He has a huge future in this league as a full-time starter.”
That endorsement came after a day in which Tampa’s offensive line finally looked like the unit it was supposed to be. Through the first six games, the group had fallen far short of the lofty expectations that came with Tristan Wirfs anchoring the left side. The Bucs entered the season with a line that looked loaded on paper: Wirfs, one of the league’s premier tackles and a five-time Pro Bowler with three First-Team All-Pro selections, plus a supporting cast that included Goedeke, Ben Brederson, Cody Mauch and Graham Barton.
The talent was never really the question. Wirfs has been named First-Team All-Pro at both left and right tackle, and the rest of the line also carried strong reputations.
PFF had ranked Goedeke as a top-25 tackle on either side before the season, while Brederson, Mauch and Barton were all viewed as above-average at their spots. With everyone healthy to begin the 2026 campaign, the expectation was that Tampa would rediscover the dominant front it had in 2024, when the offense was one of the league’s most explosive.
Instead, the unit stumbled badly early on, feeding into a 1-5 start. Then Sunday happened.
Against Carolina, Tampa’s line delivered its cleanest performance of the year. The Buccaneers didn’t allow a sack after giving up 22 over the first six games, and they controlled the Panthers on the ground from start to finish. Tampa piled up 258 rushing yards, the third-most in franchise history, and scored three rushing touchdowns.
What made the outing stand out even more was that it came without Goedeke. Chukwuma handled the job, played every snap, and earned plenty of praise inside the building afterward. His Week 7 PFF grade came in at 53.9, an oddly modest number for a performance that clearly left a strong impression on the coaching staff and his teammates.
For now, the Bucs are hoping Goedeke’s calf issue doesn’t linger, especially with a critical divisional matchup against the Atlanta Falcons next on the schedule. But if Sunday was any indication, Tampa may have found more than a spot starter in Chukwuma.
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Bucs Win Didn't Silence One Big Baker Mayfield Debate
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One recent evaluation of the roster frames the next stretch of team building around the skill positions, where the Bucs need more impact and consistency to take pressure off Mayfield. There are still contract questions, current production to weigh, and younger pieces trying to establish themselves, but the bigger concern is whether Tampa Bay can keep asking the passing game to carry so much of the load without adding more difference-makers on the outside and at tight end. [Read more 🡒]