Cody Mauch fuels his comeback from injury with a burning desire for a dominant season on Tampa Bay's offensive line.
Cody Mauch never missed a football game dating back to his high school days, but a season-ending torn meniscus in his knee broke that streak. After months of recovering, Mauch is motivated to have a bounce-back season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers guard suffered his season-ending knee injury in Week 2's victory over the Houston Texans. He recalled the moment when he felt his meniscus tear, but thought it was a nagging injury.
Mauch toughed the injury out until he saw the doctor the following day, and the extent of his injury shocked him.
"I get the MRI, and they call me back in, and they're like, 'Yeah, you tore your meniscus,'" Mauch told the Pewter Report Podcast on Monday. "And I'm like, 'What?' Like I mean, it hurt, and it was tough walking the next day, but I'm like, no, no, no way."
Mauch has been a consistent presence at all his football stops. At Hankinson High School in North Dakota, at North Dakota State and his first two seasons with Tampa Bay.
He played 2,374 snaps before his season-ending injury, and it halted his ascension into becoming one of the better guards in the NFL.
Mauch struggled in his rookie year in 2023, finishing with a 43.9 Pro Football Focus grade (77th out of the 83 qualified guards). He had a 37.6 run blocking grade and a 52.1 pass blocking grade, including allowing 57 pressures and eight sacks.
Tampa Bay's 48th pick improved in his sophomore season, ranking just outside the top-15 guards with a 74.6 PFF grade. Everything about Mauch improved, sporting a 68.4 run blocking grade, a 77.2 pass blocking grade and 19 pressures.
He had the sixth-lowest pressure rate among guards at 2.63%. Mauch was climbing up the ladder, but he fell hard. Now, he is reassuring himself that his knee is doing well as he progresses in his rehab.
"So now the next step is doing it against other people," Mauch said. "Like the knee's fine, and I have to keep telling myself this, my knee's fine, my knee's healed, it's a mental thing. So, once you start going up against guys again, then you're good."
Mauch is entering the final year of his four-year, $7.48 million rookie contract. His cap hit for the Buccaneers is $4.28 million, and next season is an opportunity for the second-round pick to earn an extension.
Tampa Bay extending Mauch would cement him as part of its offensive line core with Tristan Wirfs, Ben Bredeson, Graham Barton and Luke Goedeke.
The offensive line dealt with injuries throughout last season, and the group returning healthy could help bolster a strong start and finish to next season.
Mauch said a contract extension is on the back of his mind, but he's going to try not to let it affect his play on the field. He wants to have a great year after missing last season and let all the dominoes fall in place when next offseason arrives.
"I'm going to go out and play as if it wasn't a contract year," Mauch added. "I'm just going to go play football. I'm like, don't let it change anything. Don't do anything different."
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