The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just made Tristan Wirfs the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history so it’s safe to say that those claiming he’s the best in the business are not suffering from any biases or ‘homerisms’.

Yet, for as good as he is, it took the Buccaneers a bit to get the deal done.

While Wirfs certainly didn’t seem bothered by that fact on the surface, former Tampa Bay lineman A.Q. Shipley says the team should’ve gotten the deal done much sooner than it did.

“He should’ve been paid the first day he could,” Shipley said to SportsCasting.com. As a teammate of Wirfs’ in 2020 and a coach in 2021 Shipley got to know the lineman pretty well and described him as a, “great kid” and a “great player.”

Shipley also cited the fact that Wirfs’ work ethic has never been brought into question, saying, “He’s not going to get the bag and then shut it down.”

Of course, that’s nothing new to the Bucs who asked Wirfs to prepare for a move from right tackle to left telling him they may or may not need him to move over. He not only prepared, but came into the season ready to make it look almost easy to make the switch when the time came.

As more and more linemen make the move from one side of the line to the other we sometimes forget how difficult that can be, and that’s something Shipley also pointed out as a reason why Wirfs deserved to be paid, and paid as soon as possible.

“It’s like wiping your ass with your left hand,” Shipley joked, using a common reference to the transition.

Shipley also discussed the contrast between the quarterback market and the rest of the NFL, and how overpaying one position could cause issues retaining talent at others.

We think it’s safe to say Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield likely wouldn’t have been as impactful in 2023 if he didn’t have a left tackle of Wirfs’ caliber, and fortunately for him he won’t have to worry about not having him under contract in 2024 and beyond.

Even if it did take longer than it should have to get the deal done.