While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their fans knew right offensive tackle Luke Goedeke would eventually return this season, what they didn’t know for sure was when that might happen after he went on injured reserve with a foot injury following a Week 2 win over the Houston Texans.
One thing no one knew about Goedeke was the actual extent of his injuries — it was always just characterized as a “foot” injury — but the man himself tuned everyone in to exactly how bad it was during Thursday’s media session.
“Bucs RT Luke Goedeke said he tore his plantar fascia and had a contusion to recover from since Week 2,” Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account on November 13. “He is thrilled to be back.”
Now, with Goedeke finally back in the lineup fir a Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots, it’s only going to get better for both Goedeke and Tampa Bay’s offense the more he’s in the lineup. He gets another chance when the NFC South first place Buccaneers travel to face the Buffalo Bills in Week 11, where Goedeke will get to square off with edge rusher Joey Bosa.
The Patriots game was the first tine this season the Buccaneers had their high priced offensive tackles together — left offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs missed the first 3 games as he recovered from preseason knee surgery.
“I came in day in and day out (to rehab) to try and get back as soon as possible,” Goedeke said in a video posted to X by Pewter Report. “I wasn’t the most pleasant at times to be around … football is what my life revolves around. I make sacrifices training in the offseason to be in the very best physical shape I can be in, so to have that taken away from you is very frustrating.”
The Buccaneers have been missing large chunks of their offense all season. That’s meant little familiarity and little getting a feel for each other, because it’s always different people in the lineup.
The Buccaneers saw an immediate uptick in their run game against the Patriots with Goedeke back in the lineup and rushed for 113 yards — their highest total since running for 122 yards in a Week 3 win over the New York Jets.
“Luke Goedeke immediately shuts down the notion that he’s the only reason the run game bounced back,” Bucs Gameday’s River Wells posted on X on November 13. “He says all 11 players did good work to get the run game going against the Patriots.”
This offseason, for the second year in a row, the Buccaneers delivered a massive payday to one of their elite offensive linemen.
“The #Bucs have agreed to terms with their standout OT Luke Goedeke, as he gets a 4-year, $90M deal — $22.5M APY — that includes $50M guaranteed,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on September 2. “Tampa Bay locks up another key O-lineman.”
Tampa Bay signed NFL All-Pro left offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs to a 4-year, $140.6 million contract extension in August 2024, which remains the largest contract for an offensive lineman in NFL history.
With the Las Vegas Raiders dropping to 2-7, it’s time to start thinking about the 2026 NFL Draft. The team clearly needs a ton of talent, so next year’s draft is very important.
The Raiders have the same number of wins as the team holding the No. 2 pick, but have to hope the Tennessee Titans win at least two more games if they want to get the No. 1 pick. The top pick isn’t out of the question for Las Vegas, but that would be bad news for quarterback Geno Smith.
If the Raiders are bad enough the rest of the way to get the No. 1 pick, ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes that the veteran quarterback will be gone.
“Probably the end of his time in Las Vegas,” Graziano wrote when asked what the No. 1 pick would mean for Smith’s future. “If the Raiders get the No. 1 pick, that almost certainly means Smith won’t have turned his season around and the Raiders could be looking at a lot of changes, including at quarterback. Smith does have $18.5 million in guaranteed salary coming in 2026 no matter what, and another $8 million becomes fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on the third day of the league year next March. But because of the way the Raiders handle bonus structure in their veteran contracts, that $18.5 million is all the dead money they’d have to carry on their 2026 salary cap for Smith if they cut him before the third day of the league year.”
The only thing Smith has going for him right now is that head coach Pete Carroll really believes in him. If it wasn’t for that, he likely would’ve been benched already.
Getting the No. 1 pick might also lead to Carroll getting fired, which would almost certainly mean the end for Smith. Luckily, there’s still time for the quarterback to save his Raiders career.
The season is only halfway through. If Smith can string together some strong performances, that would do a lot to help convince the Raiders to commit to him for at least one more season. The team doesn’t even need to be winning; he just has to play better. If he continues to throw interceptions, it’s difficult to see how the Raiders could bring him back.
If the Raiders end up with the No. 1 pick, many are going to link them to quarterbacks. That makes sense considering in this scenario, Smith is likely gone.
However, ESPN’s Matt Miller thinks Ohio State star linebacker and pass rusher Arvell Reese would be too good to pass up.
“Here’s another team where Reese is a dream fit,” Miller wrote. “The Raiders have struggled to find Crosby a good running mate in previous drafts and free agency, but Reese’s speed and power would match the relentlessness that Crosby plays with. Teams have to plan around winning their division, and it makes sense to build a defense that can attack the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Chargers’ Justin Herbert and the Broncos‘ Bo Nix. Yes, quarterback is a clear and obvious need, but Ryan is right that the defense has to be built in order for the Raiders to win.”