Antoine Winfield Jr suddenly appears on Buccaneers’ injury report

With a critical Week 9 contest upcoming against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers might be without one of their defensive leaders as safety Antoine Winfield Jr was a late addition to the injury report because of a foot injury. Winfield Jr was a limited practice participant Friday, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero.

The 2023 First-Team All-Pro has already missed four games this season in Weeks 2 to 5.

The 4-4 Buccaneers are one game back in the NFC South behind the division-leading 5-3 Atlanta Falcons. After a 2-0 start to the season, the Bucs have lost four of their last six games, including back-to-back losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Falcons.

Buccaneers are far from a push-over

As demonstrated during last year’s playoffs, Tampa Bay is a team greater than the sum of its parts. Despite being without wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, quarterback Baker Mayfield remained steadfast in his belief in his team.

“We have the mental makeup to overcome anything,” Mayfield said.

Winfield Jr was part of the controversial touchdown play that was not overturned last week against the Falcons. As Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts crossed into the end zone, Winfield Jr jarred the ball loose. The touchdown call wasn’t overturned because no camera angle gave the referees a proper look at the play. If that play was overturned, it could have completely flipped the game’s momentum and possibly led to the Buccaneers winning.

Should the Bucs make a move ahead of the NFL trade deadline? Tampa Bay could add a relatively low-cost piece like Kendrick Bourne to their wide receiver corps in the face of potentially losing Chris Godwin for the season, per ClutchPoints’ Jordan Llanes.

“Pursuing a receiver like Bourne wouldn’t be too bad of a replacement, especially for Godwin. The New England Patriot is in the first campaign of a three-season pact, and has a manageable cap hit of $7.9 million in each of the next two seasons. The hit for this season is even smaller, as he’s making $3.25 million this year. He only has four catches for 29 yards on the campaign and could use a fresh start.

“Why not in Tampa Bay? He’s a slot dynamo and has had multiple 70+ catch seasons in the past. He has experience in San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, which is an offshoot of what Liam Coen runs for the Buccaneers. He would likely become a trusted target for Mayfield, and a solid third option for the offense at full strength.”

In the most recent NFL Power Rankings from ClutchPoints’ Mike Johrendt, Tampa Bay is slotted at No. 7.