Injuries have already ripped through Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp and the hits just keep coming.
First, it was Tristan Wirfs being placed on the PUP list after knee surgery, and then it was Baker Mayfield, who suffered a hand injury that has kept him sidelined. Rachaad White left the Bucs' first preseason game on the second drive with a groin injury, and now Antoine Winfield Jr., the team's best defensive player, is being sidelined as well with a leg injury.
Thankfully things seemed worse than they turned out to be.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport was the first to give Bucs fans some good news about Winfield's status, and Rick Stroud doubled that up on Thursday.
#Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. has hamstring tightness and the team is being very careful with their All Pro safety. Pretty good news considering.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) August 14, 2025
That's good news, but the Bucs aren't out of the woods yet. He still has a hamstring injury so until that's fully rested and healed there's reason to be cautious. Also, say it with me, what's with all of these hamstring injuries!?
If there's one thing Bucs fans can rely on, it's players suffering some sort of hamstring ailment. It plagued the team last year and has already taken both Winfield Jr. and rookie Benjamin Morrison off the board at camp.
Let's not pretend like this isn't a positive update, though.
Buccaneers dodge a nightmare scenario with Antoine Winfield Jr. injury
Winfield missed significant portions of the season last year with two different injuries. He suffered a sprained ankle in the season opener against Washington which caused him to miss four games, and a sprained knee a few weeks after his return cost him four more.
He avoided IR and was able to return in time for the Wild Card game in January but it's hard to say Winfield followed up his massive new contract extension with a good season. That's what has everyone so excited about him getting back on the field this year, because his absence is notable on defense.
Hearing that he had suffered yet another leg injury gave fans a jolt, but it appears a nightmare scenario has been avoided. The Bucs will still need to be careful with Winfield's health since he's such a game changer on defense -- Tampa Bay probably doesn't lose to Dallas late last season if Winfield had played.
However, this is at least some semblance of good injury news in what has been a total graveyard of luck for most of training camp for the Bucs.
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