Late in the win over the Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. suffered an injury that has suddenly thrown a wet blanket over everyone's celebration.
Winfield apparently injured himself on one of the final plays of Sunday's win, and has now been added to a growing pile of defensive players who are expected to miss time.
It was an injury that snowballed out of seemingly nowhere. After the win on Sunday, Winfield was spotted in a walking boot which raised some concern, which quickly grew into alarm after Todd Bowle suggested he might miss next week's game against the Lions.
Things culminated in a worst-case scenario, as Winfield is now expected to miss at least the next two weeks if not more.
Antoine Winfield Jr. could miss up to four weeks with ankle injury suffered in Week 1
#Bucs are “cautiously optimistic” that S Antoine Winfield Jr will miss only two weeks with an ankle injury. But it could be a 3-4 week injury. The good news is it’s not season-ending. All Pro and one of the NFL’s highest paid defensive backs will be down for awhile.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) September 9, 2024
It's another devestating blow to a secondary that has already been ransacked by the injury bug after only a single game. Bryce Hall was carted off the field with what the team believes is a season-ending injury, Josh Hayes left with an ankle injury, and Zyon McCollum was lost to a concussion.
That could mean the Bucs already thin secondary is down four players ass it prepares for a massive matchup on the road in Detroit next Sunday.
Replacing those guys won't be easy, and it likely won't involve Tavierre Thomas for help. That will be a last case scenario, as bringing in someone from the outside and hoping they get up to speed on defensive schemes in less than a week is a lot to ask.
More realistically the Bucs will look internally at options, of which there are more than a few. Tyrek Funderburk and Kaevon Merriweather were healthy scratches on Sunday and both are likely going to get activated for next Sunday. The same could go for Tavierre Thomas, who could get elevated from the practice squad to help fill in as well.
Signing someone like Xavien Howard or Eli Apple is on the table, but it's probably not the route Tampa Bay will go. This is a team that prided itself on in-house talent last season and has nurtured homegrown players into higher positions on the depth chart over the last few years. That could end up being the case again here, but it doesn't make the fact that the Bucs will be without its best defensive player any easier to stomach.
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