TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers left tackle Tristan Wirfs was a no-show Tuesday for the start of the club’s voluntary organized team activities.
An All-Pro at right tackle two years ago, Wirfs made a smooth transition to left tackle last season and is scheduled to earn $18.24 million this fall under the fifth-year option of the rookie contract he signed as the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Coach Todd Bowles, who watched Tuesday’s OTA workout from a golf cart as he recovers from left knee replacement surgery, did not directly answer a question about whether Wirfs’ absence was related to the status of talks aimed at a contract extension.
“I’m aware that it’s voluntary and me and Tristan had a conversation, we’ve had plenty of conversations,” Bowles said. “He’s been here all offseason, so I’m comfortable with that.”
The Bucs have had a busy offseason, focusing on retaining the core of a roster that’s won three straight NFC South championships and made four consecutive playoff appearances.
In addition to re-signing quarterback Baker Mayfield, franchise career receiving leader Mike Evans and long-time defensive standout Lavonte David in March, general manager Jason Licht last week made All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. the highest-paid defensive back (four years, $84 million) in NFL history.
Licht reiterated this week that the Bucs remain committed to rewarding Wirfs, a Pro Bowl selection in his first season as a left tackle, with a long-term extension.
“It was a big puzzle this year of how to fit it all in,” Licht said Monday during a news conference to announce Winfield’s new contract. “Hopefully we can finish this off.”
Winfield was a second-round draft pick in 2020, when he and Wirfs became immediate starters and helped Tampa Bay win the Super Bowl as rookies.
The 25-year-old safety is excited about the prospect of Wirfs becoming the next key component of the team to land a new deal.
“I texted Tristan the other day like: ‘It’s coming bro, I already know it.’ It’s been amazing to play with him,” Winfield said.
“Coming out of the same class, I feel like once we got in here, you know, we’ve both worked extremely hard. We both just wanted to come in here and just do great things,” Winfield added. “So far to this point, I feel like we’ve both had great careers and I hope that continues down the line as we continue to grow and lead this team.”
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield runs during an NFL football organized team activity Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles walks with a cane as he watches during an NFL football organized team activity Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. Bowles had minor knee surgery earlier this week. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
PHOENIX (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term “unborn human being” to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters will use to weigh a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten said the wording the legislative council suggested is “packed with emotion and partisan meaning” and asked for what he called more “neutral” language. The measure aims to expand abortion access from 15 weeks to 24 weeks – the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb.
It would allow exemptions to save the woman’s life or to protect her physical or mental health. It would also prevent the state from adopting or enforcing laws that would forbid access to the procedure.
Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, who is a co-chair of the legislative council, said the group will appeal the court’s decision to the state Supreme Court.
“The ruling is just plain wrong and clearly partisan,” said Toma, a Republican.
The State Supreme Court has until Aug. 27 to rule on the appeal for the language to be changed.
Aaron Thacker, communications director for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, noted that the final decision on the ballot itself remains in the air.
“There’s still a lot of scenarios at play," he said. "Even after the secretary certifies the signatures, the courts have to decide if counties can put it on the ballot or not."
Arizona for Abortion Access, the organization leading the ballot measure campaign, sued the council earlier this month over the suggested language and advocated for the term “fetus,” which the council rejected.
Attorney General Kris Mayes wrote in a motion to submit an amicus brief that “fetus" and “pregnancy” are both neutral terms that the council could adopt.
“It’s incredibly important to us that Arizona voters get to learn more about and weigh our measure in objective and accurate terminology,” said Dawn Penich, communications director for the abortion access group.
Democrats have centered abortion rights in their campaigns in this year’s elections. Organizers in five other states have also proposed similar measures that would codify abortion access in their state constitutions: Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada and South Dakota.
Arizona organizers submitted more than double the amount of signatures needed for the measure to appear on the ballot.
FILE - Arizona abortion-rights supporters deliver over 800,000 petition signatures to the capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. A judge on Friday, July 26, rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term “unborn human being” to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters will use to decide on a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
