The Buzz Surrounding Luke Goedeke In 2025

Let’s put the spotlight on Bucs right tackle Luke Goedeke.

With the 2024 season firmly in the rearview mirror and the pre-draft process, free agency, the draft itself, OTAs and mini-camp also behind us, it’s time to ramp up the excitement for training camp and then, of course, the Bucs’ 50th season. As we did last summer, we’ll spend the weeks leading up to training camp focusing on some storylines and narratives surrounding some of Tampa Bay’s biggest stars in 2025.

We started with quarterback Baker Mayfield, then went on to the backfield duo of Bucky Irving and Rachaad White before moving on to the wide receiver trio of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan. From there, we covered tight end Cade Otton and then moved to the offensive line with a look at Tristan Wirfs.

Today, we wrap up the offensive side of this Bucs Storylines series with fourth-year right tackle Luke Goedeke.

What’s The Next Step Up For Luke Goedeke In 2025?

The story of Luke Goedeke’s NFL career has already been one of redemption, and it only got better in 2024. Think back to his rookie year in 2022 and how much of a struggle it was. Drafted in the second round out of Central Michigan, Goedeke was shifted from his college position of right tackle to left guard, and the transition didn’t go well.

He started at guard for the first seven weeks of the season and never really found himself at home. Pro Football Focus never graded him higher than a 56.9, and that grade came in a Week 7 game at Carolina that he left after 48 snaps due to a foot injury. Nick Leverett filled in admirably in Goedeke’s departure, leaving the rookie to play sparingly after returning from that foot injury. In a meaningless Week 18 game at Atlanta, Goedeke actually played what was his best game of the season to that point, doing so at right tackle.

And even though Goedeke returned to left guard for Tampa Bay’s playoff loss to Dallas the next week and played well, the Bucs went into the next season with a new plan. Goedeke would kick back to right tackle — his position at Central Michigan — while All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs would slide over to the left side to take over for the departing Donovan Smith.

Predictably, Wirfs settled in at left tackle and made the Pro Bowl in 2023 before going on to be a Pro Bowler and a First Team All-Pro at left tackle in 2024. But Goedeke’s story was perhaps less predictable. Although it was thought that he may not have the right arm length to play tackle in the NFL, he did more than just look the part of a serviceable NFL right tackle. He played really well, and by the end of a season in which he earned a 73.4 overall grade from PFF, it felt like the Bucs had their right tackle of the future.

And despite an early-season concussion costing him some time early in the 2024 season, Goedeke went on to turn in another exceptional season. He earned a 74.2 overall grade from PFF and had a 76.8 pass blocking grade paired with a 75.7 run blocking mark. He allowed just a 3.2% pressure rate and is now in line for a long-term contract extension to remain in Tampa Bay for the long haul as one of the pillars of the team’s O-line.

So, as great as Goedeke’s NFL story has already been and as reliable as he’s been over the last two seasons, what’s the next step for the 26-year-old in 2025? It’s going to be difficult to cut down that pressure rate, but he did allow three sacks after allowing four in 2023. If he can cut that number down even further, he could take his game to that elite level just in time to cash in on a new contract.

However, if Goedeke can simply maintain his level of play from 2024 while cutting down on penalties, that would be a huge win for both him and the Bucs offense. After his 12 penalties in 2023 were tied for third-most among tackles across the league, his 10 penalties last year (over 13 games) also ranked inside the top 10. Getting that number down would be a good step forward for the young tackle in his fourth season in the league.

How High Can Luke Goedeke’s Star Rise Compared To Other NFL Tackles?

The rise of Luke Goedeke has certainly been noticed and well documented in the Buccaneer world over the last two seasons. But for the most part, he hasn’t quite reached the level of national notoriety that a tackle at his level of play would typically receive. Part of that simply comes with playing in the Tampa Bay market, but it’s still fair to wonder: How high can Goedeke’s star rise compared to other offensive tackles elsewhere in the NFL?

The game of football and football discourse has changed enough over the years that offensive linemen aren’t necessarily the same kind of underappreciated as they were years ago. Now, they’re still underappreciated and often unnoticed by the casual fan, but there have been enough star linemen in recent decades to shift things at least a bit.

So, what will it take to see Goedeke enter the conversation when people on a national scale are discussing the NFL’s elite offensive tackles? In terms of play, he’s up there already.

In PFF’s recent ranking of the league’s top tackles, Goedeke came in at No. 29. Philadelphia’s Lane Johnson was understandably the top-ranked right tackle, ranking fifth overall. It’s hard to jump into that upper echelon of offensive tackles as a right tackle, which is why Johnson is essentially the only one that has done so in recent years outside of Tristan Wirfs, who of course now ranks among the league’s best at left tackle.

Joe Alt, a 2024 first-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers, was No. 16 on PFF’s list, while Carolina’s Taylor Moton came in at No. 22. Buffalo’s Spencer Brown was just ahead of Goedeke, ranking at No. 27.

Goedeke is a staggering +20000 to win the NFL’s Protector of the Year award in 2025. While it’s no surprise that he’s not up among the favorites for the award that is given to the league’s best offensive linemen, his odds being that low somewhat speaks further to the lack of recognition he receives nationally. So, what can change that and get Tampa Bay’s right tackle some more love?

A season similar to the one Wirfs had in his rookie year back in 2020 (or like the ones he had in subsequent years) would help. Remember, Wirfs burst onto the scene in 2020 with a campaign that saw him allow only one sack over 799 pass blocking snaps. A dominant 2025 season would help Goedeke rise even higher, especially if he breaks through and earns his first-ever Pro Bowl selection.

Regardless, Goedeke will surely settle for being appreciated by the fans in Tampa Bay — and by the team’s front office when the time comes for his next contract.

What Will Luke Goedeke’s New Contract Look Like?

With the way he has settled in at right tackle over the last two years, Luke Goedeke has solidified his spot in the Bucs’ plans for the future. When you have a tackle duo as formidable as the one Tampa Bay runs out there with Goedeke on the right and All-Pro Tristan Wirfs on the left, you want to lock that in for the foreseeable future.

So, when Goedeke gets a multi-year, big-money contract, what will it look like?

What we do know is that he is going to get PAID, as Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds discussed in a Pewter Pulse video last December. With an even more dominant 2025 season, Goedeke could raise his price tag next offseason. He has Pro Bowl potential, and if he can reach that potential this year and earn a trip to Orlando — and of course if he is a crucial contributor on the way to, say, a Bucs NFC Championship Game or Super Bowl run — that dollar amount can only go up.

But for now, he’s well on course for a big pay day as it is. Pewter Report’s salary cap guru Josh Queipo’s current projection is a five-year, $107.5 million deal for Goedeke, a deal that averages out to $21.5 million per year. That contract would come in at 10th among offensive tackles and third among right tackles, a strong reward for what Goedeke means to the Tampa Bay offensive line and especially its protection for Baker Mayfield.

In 2024, Mayfield was pressured the third-least out of NFL quarterbacks, which of course points to the job the Bucs offensive line did but also is a credit to the bookend tackles the team has in Wirfs and Goedeke. Not to mention, Goedeke played a key role in the offensive line’s improvement in the run game last year, too, as Tampa Bay went from dead last in rushing in back-to-back years all the way to fourth in 2024.

After rebounding from a rough rookie year, there’s no doubt that Goedeke deserves the big contract coming his way. Now, the sneaky interesting question is this: When does he sign on the dotted line to lock in with Tampa Bay for the foreseeable future?

As we just mentioned, another great year for Goedeke in 2025 (and especially a dominant, Pro Bowl-level season) will only elevate his price tag next offseason. So, there’s still a chance the Bucs may just go ahead and get him signed to a contract extension ahead of this season. Otherwise, they may run the risk of the price going up or even worse, Goedeke and his camp deciding to test the waters in free agency next spring and potentially landing a can’t-miss deal elsewhere.

While there’s been no indication that anything is imminent, Tampa Bay has the space to handle a potential extension now or at some point during training camp. Just last year, the team went ahead and inked Wirfs to his new contract right as camp was getting underway. Maybe the Bucs brass will take care of Goedeke’s contract situation the same way this year.