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While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their fans knew right offensive tackle Luke Goedeke would eventually return this season, what they didn\u2019t know for sure was\u00a0when<\/em>\u00a0that might happen after he went on injured reserve with a foot injury following a Week 2 win over the\u00a0Houston Texans.<\/p>\n One thing no one knew about Goedeke was the actual extent of his injuries \u2014 it was always just characterized as a \u201cfoot\u201d injury \u2014 but the man himself tuned everyone in to exactly how bad it was during Thursday\u2019s media session.<\/p>\n \u201cBucs RT Luke Goedeke said he tore his plantar fascia and had a contusion to recover from since Week 2,\u201d\u00a0Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud\u00a0wrote on his official X account on November 13. \u201cHe is thrilled to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, with Goedeke finally back in the lineup fir a Week 10 loss to the\u00a0New England Patriots, it\u2019s only going to get better for both Goedeke and Tampa Bay\u2019s offense the more he\u2019s in the lineup. He gets another chance when the NFC South first place Buccaneers travel to face the\u00a0Buffalo Bills\u00a0in Week 11, where Goedeke will get to square off with edge rusher\u00a0Joey Bosa.<\/p>\n The Patriots game was the first tine this season the Buccaneers had their high priced offensive tackles together \u2014 left offensive tackle\u00a0Tristan Wirfs\u00a0missed the first 3 games as he recovered from preseason knee surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cI came in day in and day out (to rehab) to try and get back as soon as possible,\u201d\u00a0Goedeke said in a video\u00a0posted to X by Pewter Report. \u201cI wasn\u2019t the most pleasant at times to be around \u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The Buccaneers have been missing large chunks of their offense all season. That\u2019s meant little familiarity and little getting a feel for each other, because it\u2019s always different people in the lineup.<\/p>\n The Buccaneers saw an immediate uptick in their run game against the Patriots with Goedeke back in the lineup and rushed for 113 yards \u2014 their highest total since running for 122 yards in a Week 3 win over the\u00a0New York Jets.<\/p>\n \u201cLuke\u00a0Goedeke\u00a0immediately shuts down the notion that he\u2019s the only reason the run game bounced back,\u201d\u00a0Bucs Gameday\u2019s River Wells\u00a0posted on X on November 13. \u201cHe says all 11 players did good work to get the run game going against the Patriots.\u201d<\/p>\n This offseason, for the second year in a row, the Buccaneers\u00a0delivered a massive payday\u00a0to one of their elite offensive linemen.<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0#Bucs\u00a0have agreed to terms with their standout OT\u00a0Luke\u00a0Goedeke, as he gets a 4-year, $90M deal \u2014 $22.5M APY \u2014 that includes $50M guaranteed,\u201d\u00a0NFL Network\u2019s Ian Rapoport\u00a0wrote on his official X account on September 2. \u201cTampa Bay locks up another key O-lineman.\u201d<\/p>\n Tampa Bay signed NFL All-Pro left offensive tackle\u00a0Tristan Wirfs\u00a0to a 4-year, $140.6 million contract extension in August 2024, which remains the largest contract for an offensive lineman in\u00a0NFL history.<\/p>\n With the Las Vegas Raiders dropping to 2-7, it\u2019s time to start thinking about the 2026 NFL Draft. The team clearly needs a ton of talent, so next year\u2019s draft is very important.<\/p>\n The Raiders have the same number of wins as the team holding the No. 2 pick, but have to hope the\u00a0Tennessee Titans\u00a0win at least two more games if they want to get the No. 1 pick. The top pick isn\u2019t out of the question for Las Vegas, but that would be bad news for quarterback\u00a0Geno Smith.<\/p>\n If the Raiders are bad enough the rest of the way to get the No. 1 pick,\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Dan Graziano\u00a0believes that the veteran quarterback will be gone.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably the end of his time in Las Vegas,\u201d Graziano wrote when asked what the No. 1 pick would mean for Smith\u2019s future. \u201cIf the Raiders get the No. 1 pick, that almost certainly means Smith won\u2019t 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\u2019s 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\u2019d have to carry on their 2026 salary cap for Smith if they cut him before the third day of the league year.\u201d<\/p>\n The only thing Smith has going for him right now is that head coach\u00a0Pete Carroll\u00a0really believes in him. If it wasn\u2019t for that, he likely would\u2019ve been benched already.<\/p>\n Getting the No. 1 pick might also lead to Carroll getting fired, which would almost certainly mean the end for Smith. Luckily, there\u2019s still time for the quarterback to save his Raiders career.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t even need to be winning; he just has to play better. If he continues to throw interceptions, it\u2019s difficult to see how the Raiders could bring him back.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n However, ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller thinks Ohio State star linebacker and pass rusher Arvell Reese would be too good to pass up.<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s another team where Reese is a dream fit,\u201d Miller wrote. \u201cThe Raiders have struggled to find Crosby a good running mate in previous drafts and free agency, but Reese\u2019s 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\u2019 Patrick Mahomes, the Chargers\u2019 Justin Herbert and the\u00a0Broncos\u2018 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their fans knew right offensive tackle Luke Goedeke would eventually return this season, what they didn\u2019t know for sure was\u00a0when\u00a0that might happen after he went on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t