Bucs Make Moves At Tackle
March 13th, 2025
Gone.
The Bucs lost a guy Joe hoped they would keep. A couple of hours later, the Bucs apparently found his replacement.
Now Joe knows that the mere mention of backup tackle Justin Skule gives many Bucs an immediate case of the shivers. But Joe has to be fair.
After starting for concussed Luke Goedeke at right tackle in Week 2 at Detroit, Skule got fully worked over by Aidan Hutchison. It was gruesome, maybe the worst Joe has seen since Kenyatta Walker tried to tangle with Julius Peppers.
Once that horrid game was over, Skule did a nice job subbing for Goedeke.
Just before the bye, Tristan Wirfs got hurt against the 49ers and Skule had to replace him. Joe thought Nick Bosa was going to run wild on Skule.
Oh, Bosa made a play or two, but Skule did a solid job on one of the best pass rushers in the game. So Skule developed into quite a solid backup tackle. Joe was hoping the Bucs would keep him. Instead, Skule hustled off to Minneapolis.
A couple of hours after the news of Skule was announced, the Bucs signed free agent veteran tackle Charlie Heck. Last year playing for both Arizona and San Francisco, Heck had two starts, both for the 49ers. He’s 28 years old and stands 6-8, 320 pounds.
Houston drafted Heck in 2020 out of North Carolina in the fourth round. In 2021, Heck started 13 games at right tackle for the Texans. In the past three seasons, Heck has six starts.
March 13th, 2025 at 10:44 pm
What the heck
March 13th, 2025 at 10:47 pm
Plantar fasciitis problem last year – very fixable.
Sciatica probably last year – very fixable if it was brought on by the plantar fasciitis.
Grades as a starter at Houston were poor, but the OL was in poor shape the.
Hopefully, the Bucs see something they think that they can work some magic with. They have shown some success doing that. Otherwise, it seems way too early to just be grabbing someone who doesn’t look like he should be on even the off-season roster.
March 13th, 2025 at 10:47 pm
HECK NAW LOL
March 13th, 2025 at 10:50 pm
Skule was worth paying a bit, but he had no chance of starting barring an injury. So, maybe he said no to decent money for a long shot at starting elsewhere.
That is the only way this makes sense to me.
March 13th, 2025 at 10:59 pm
Heck of a job Jason Licht!
March 13th, 2025 at 11:03 pm
And???
March 13th, 2025 at 11:22 pm
Skule Vikings
March 13th, 2025 at 11:23 pm
Carberry will get the most out of him. Depth! Heck yeah!
March 13th, 2025 at 11:41 pm
OK??
March 13th, 2025 at 11:44 pm
Heck of a signing.
March 13th, 2025 at 11:50 pm
Heck Yes !!!
March 13th, 2025 at 11:51 pm
We will be having a heck of a time Bucs fans !
March 14th, 2025 at 12:10 am
He’s gone too bad but yea he was a punching bag for two weeks
March 14th, 2025 at 12:14 am
Once that horrid game was over, Skule did a nice job subbing for Goedeke.
———-
That is not true. He was awful in that Broncos game, giving up another 2.5 sacks by my count.
Thank God he’s gone, he was trash. Licht was happy to let him go, probably on a vet min deal since no details were released. That says a ton.
March 14th, 2025 at 12:21 am
I will give Skule credit for one thing – because he was so God awful, Coen had to completely change up the offense, which happened for the Eagles game. The Bucs caught the Eagles completely off guard by going to a quick passing game – which was required since Skule couldn’t hold a block for more than 1.2 seconds. Because of that change, the Bucs offense really took off, so if you want to say he did anything good, it’s that, and only that.
March 14th, 2025 at 12:24 am
Sounds like Licht was ready for this – and that the new swing Tackle is a possible upgrade – as former 4th rd selection Heck has 25 starts under his belt in 5 years – while former 6th rd pick Skule has 17 starts in 6 years.
March 14th, 2025 at 12:25 am
Uncomfortable read. Someone pay for an editor
March 14th, 2025 at 12:54 am
Thought maybe Jax would sign him to start at left tacke
March 14th, 2025 at 1:36 am
The heck with skule.😬
March 14th, 2025 at 3:26 am
They ask Licht to give them hell, and instead he gives them Heck.
Better than Skule.
March 14th, 2025 at 5:27 am
A positive upgrade. Saying Skule played better later in the season is like saying someone in a wheelchair is faster than without it.
March 14th, 2025 at 6:46 am
I don’t really care how Skule settled in after making Hutchinson’s season in one game, I think there’s more context to his performance. I mean we’ve witnessed some bad Bucs offensive lines, but I never remember 1 player looking so bad against a defender. I think at some if we did have a guy like Skule he basically would get a penalty for holding vs playing matador against an elite pass rusher. I almost would have rather seen Skule mug Hutchinson hard a couple of times to set a tone.
What’s agonizing was we went against several backups last season, and we were hoping that any/all of our guys could feast on them like a Hutchinson did to us, and yet, none of our guys came close to exploiting the backups weakness. Good depth I guess. Something I was truly envious of.
I hope Heck isn’t the direct replacement and much like Steve mentioned on the pod we consider drafting a lineman. We need an upgrade at swing tackle, certainly not an easy find.
March 14th, 2025 at 6:50 am
I’m not ready to throw Justin under the bus quite as much as others.
Sure, he was a back up for a reason.
And it was obvious once he had to start filling in for Luke and Tristan.
To be fair, Aidan Hutchinson is a handful for anyone. Starters included. Justin was on his own for that entire game. I would point a finger toward the offensive coaching staff for not adjusting the game plan just a bit to bring an extra blocker in on some of those plays.
After that, I thought he was a very serviceable back up.
I don’t know why he chose to move on.
I do know I think we should have resigned him because of his knowledge of the scheme and experience playing with our O-Line.
March 14th, 2025 at 7:34 am
“heck is more of a huckleberry than skoole is cool”
said aiden hutchenson
March 14th, 2025 at 7:50 am
Heck of a backup!
March 14th, 2025 at 8:29 am
It was a Heck of a signing.
March 14th, 2025 at 8:32 am
What the heck?
March 14th, 2025 at 8:58 am
Heck I dunno
March 14th, 2025 at 10:08 am
Give em heck my man. Welcome
March 14th, 2025 at 11:05 am
They can’t all be starters. We needed depth after the departures…and our coaching staff may turn him into something great.
March 14th, 2025 at 11:36 am
An average veteran swing tackle is just what the team needs. Goedeke and Wirfs are young and strong and hopefully can stay healthy this year.