Latest Antoine Winfield Jr. injury update is everything Bucs fans need before Wild Card Round

He is ready to rock and roll.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Antoine Winfield Jr.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Antoine Winfield Jr. | Kevin Sabitus/GettyImages

Going into the NFC Wild Card Round, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are riding the momentum of winning six of their last seven games of the regular season.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield officially followed up his career year in 2023 with a monstrous campaign this season. Wide receiver Mike Evans ended his season with a statement by tying Jerry Rice's all-time record of consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns.

And, the defense held four of their last five opponents to under 20 points. Everything is working for this Bucs team, and speaking of that defense, it looks like they are indeed going to get a monstrous boost in the Wild Card matchup against the Washington Commanders.

Dating back to Wednesday this week, Bucs captain and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was upgraded to a full practice participant. After missing the last four games of the season with a knee injury sustained in early December against the Las Vegas Raiders, it appears as though Winfield is ready to go just in time for playoff football.

On Friday, Winfield was once again a full participant to end the week's worth of practices, per ESPN's Jenna Laine. This should pave the way for Winfield to start against the Commanders on Sunday night.

The Bucs could potentially be getting back some additional players from injury against the Commanders

Also spotted at practice, in limited fashion, was cornerback Jamel Dean. Having dealt with some knee issues, Dean is working his way back and his status was unknown as of Friday morning.

Tight end Cade Otton was practicing, too, so there's hope he will be good to go for this game.

Defensive lineman Logan Hall and safety Mike Edwards came out to practice later, but as Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times noted, their status seems more up in the air.

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If the Bucs can get some of those other defensive players back against Washington, it will really boost their chances to move onto the Divisional Round. Taking on the dual-threat rookie phenom, Jayden Daniels, this Bucs defense is in for a test.

Daniels has single-handedly been the catalyst for the Washington offense. Other than Terry McLaurin, the Commanders offense is looking at someone like Olamide Zaccheus as their next-best option in the receiving room.

Even the aging Zach Ertz has once again been made relevant, thanks to Daniels. Tampa Bay is going to be dealing with a young quarterback who knows how to elevate those around him, and that is the most dangerous type at the position.

Daniels isn't just a threat himself, but makes the rest of his weapons a threat, too.

Who's ready for Sunday night?

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