Buccaneers’ $81M NFL All-Pro Could Miss Month With Injury

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t have to wait long to deal with their first majo adversity of the 2024 regular season.

According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, NFL All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. could miss up to a month with an ankle injury suffered at the end of a 37-20, season-opening win over the Washington Commanders on Sept. 8.

“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. because of a right ankle/foot injury, sources told ESPN on Monday,” Laine wrote. “He is expected to miss at least two weeks, but realistically, it could be three or four, a source said.”

Winfield had 7 tackles in the win over the Commanders. He signed a 4-year, $84.1 million contract extension on May 13 that made him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history at the time.

Winfield’s likely replacement is second-year nickelback/safety Christian Izien, who made the roster as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers in 2023.

Winfield Tops in NFL Headed into 2024

PFF’s Zoltan Buday put Winfield Jr. at No. 1 on his list of the NFL’s Top 32 safeties headed into the 2024 season.

“Winfield, who became the NFL’s highest-paid defensive back this offseason, was the highest-graded safety in the league last season (90.7),” Buday wrote. “The 25-year-old’s 92.0 PFF overall grade over the past three seasons leads the position, and his run-defense and pass-rush grades rank first among safeties, too.”

Winfield Jr. has dealt with injury issues in the past and missed 4 games each in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Winfield Jr. was a second-round pick (No. 45 overall) by the Buccaneers in the 2020 NFL Draft and started every game as a rookie in helping Tampa Bay win the second Super Bowl in franchise history. He started all 17 games in 2023 and had career highs for tackles (122), pass deflections (12), interceptions (3) and led the NFL with 6 forced fumbles.

Pro Football Network’s Lorenzo Reyna calling Winfield the most likely player on the Buccaneers’ roster to win a postseason award in 2024.

“While Baker Mayfield could spark MVP or OPOY talk, Antoine Winfield Jr. is emerging as a threat to end the league’s current streak of edge rushers winning the top defensive honor,” Reyna wrote. “Winfield is fresh off a league-high six-interception season while proving his worth on blitzes by snatching three sacks and six tackles behind the line. He could be the first safety since Troy Polamalu in 2010 to win DPOY.”

More About Winfield’s Unproven Replacement

Izien was a surprise when he made the 53-man roster in 2023 as an undrafted free agent, where he earned the starting nickelback job and became just the fourth undrafted player in NFL history with interceptions in his first 2 games.

Izien played all 17 games for the Buccaneers in 2023 and finished with 65 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 pass deflections and 1 forced fumble.

The Buccaneers have other issues in the secondary beyond Winfield Jr. Starting cornerback Zyon McCollum left the game against the Commanders with a concussion and backups Bryce Hall and Josh Hayes suffered lower leg injuries. Izien filled in at cornerback against the Commanders.

Hall’s injury was believed to be season-ending, with a dislocated right ankle and fractured fibula that would require surgery.