Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield Jr. Expected To Miss Multiple Weeks

Antoine Winfield Jr. has run into further injury trouble in 2024. The All-Pro safety is expected to miss multiple weeks with a knee sprain, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said on Monday.

Winfield suffered an ankle and foot sprain in Week 1, and that injury led to missed time. After missing four games, the 26-year-old returned to the lineup and had remained healthy until going down during Sunday’s game. His absence will once again be felt in the Tampa Bay secondary.

Over his first four seasons in the league, Winfield established himself as one of the league’s most productive defensive backs, and it came as little surprise when he received the franchise tag this offseason. That move was used to provide additional time for negotiations on a long-term deal, and in May the sides agreed to a four-year, $84.1MM extension. The contract is the most lucrative one in NFL history for safeties.

The former second-rounder has not enjoyed as productive of a season as 2023, but Winfield has remained a full-time starter and a key member of the Bucs’ secondary when healthy. He has amassed 60 tackles and a pair of sacks this year, and while his coverage statistics have not been impressive the team will be shorthanded down the stretch while attempting to improve against the pass. Tampa Bay is averaging 253 yards allowed through the air per game, which ranks 30th in the NFL.

Efforts to take a step forward in that regard will depend on other options on the backend, although Winfield’s injury is not the only one the team is dealing with at the moment. Fox Sports’ Greg Auman notes fellow safety Jordan Whitehead will miss Week 15, while Mike Edwards‘ status is in the air. That will leave Christian Izien and Kaevon Merriweather in place to handle a large defensive workload for the time being. Veteran Ryan Neal recently returned to Tampa Bay on a practice squad deal.

The Buccaneers’ win on Sunday (coupled with a loss by the Falcons) has left them alone atop the NFC South. The 7-6 outfit still has plenty of work down the stretch to do to clinch another division title, and that process will not feature Winfield for the time being.