The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 0-4 on Sunday, but their losses extend far beyond the standings.
The team’s star safety, Antoine Winfield Jr., suffered a rib injury that will keep him sidelined for two-to-four weeks.
Already reeling, the Buccaneers will now have to navigate the next few weeks against some potent offenses without one of their core defensive pieces.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. expected to miss 2-4 weeks with rib injury
Winfield exited Sunday’s game early in visible discomfort with an unspecified injury that Todd Bowlers later called an oblique injury.
That initial diagnosis undersold the severity of the injury, and Bowles clarified the extent of the injury on Monday after further testing.
“We won’t have Winfield Thursday, he’s got a slight rib fracture. Should be out two-to-four weeks probably, from what I’m hearing,” Bowles said.
Losing Winfield would be disastrous for this defense in any case, but it’s particularly impactful now, given the Bucs’ next opponent.
The Dallas Cowboys boast one of the NFL’s most explosive passing offenses thanks in large part to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Both are capable of taking the top off the defense with big plays downfield on any given play.
Without Winfield, who serves as Tampa Bay’s last line of defense, the Bucs’ secondary could be in some serious trouble. Dallas is scoring 25 points per game this season, and they’ve eclipsed 30 points scored in back-to-back weeks. Lamb caught a whopping 17 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown in Week 4, and he could be in for another prolific performance against Tampa Bay.
It doesn’t get any easier after Dallas, as the Buccaneers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons.
If Winfield indeed misses the full four games, the Bucs will have to find a way to contain Pittsburgh’s D.K. Metcalf, Carolina’s Tetairoa McMillan, and Falcons’ Drake London and Kyle Pitts without the best player in their secondary.
It’s only been four games, but this season has been an absolute nightmare for the Buccaneers, and the hits just keep on coming. Already without Baker Mayfield, who is the leader of the offense, they’ll now be without the leader of the defense as well.
As brutal of a loss as it is, Winfield should take all the time he needs to rest up, get fully healthy and avoid any further injury. The Buccaneers aren’t going anywhere this season anyway, with or without Winfield.
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