Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. warms up before a NFC wild card playoff against the Washington Commanders. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Buccaneers All-Pro says defense is 'hungrier' in 2025

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By River Wells | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 5:01 PM ET

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense didn't perform up to expectations in 2024, and neither did All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. — but both of those things could be set to change in 2025.

It's a new year, and things are different on both of those fronts. Tampa Bay's defense has been revamped with draft picks and free agency signings, with four of the Bucs' six picks coming on the defensive side of the ball and edge rusher Haason Reddick signing on in free agency. Winfield Jr., meanwhile, is healthy, something he struggled with last year. Winfield Jr. played just nine games while dealing with foot and knee injuries, and when he did play, he clearly wasn't 100%.

Now, though, Winfield Jr. isn't dealing with anything of the sort, and he's been living up to his nickname "Takeaway Tweeze" in training camp. Winfield Jr. showed out on Day 1, nabbing two interceptions on back-to-back plays, and his efforts have contributed to a wider boom in the secondary that has seen the unit nab quite a few interceptions over the first three days of camp.

The Bucs always want to win, but when asked what makes this unit different from last year's, Winfield Jr. had a simple answer — the team is hungry for success.

“I think we are more hungry this year, I would say," Winfield Jr. said. "Obviously, every year you want to come hungry, but we know we are so close to putting everything together. I really think it is setting the standard early, like, we can do this. We have all the tools that we need. It is just about putting all the right things together at the right time and staying healthy. I think we are just hungrier this year.”

Here’s Antoine Winfield Jr on how the defense is “hungrier” this year: pic.twitter.com/6uB20RnUoI
— River Wells (@riverhwells) July 25, 2025

Winfield Jr. and the defense aren't the only side of the ball with this mentality. Buccaneers running back Rachaad White said something similar earlier in the offseason, proving that Tampa Bay's want-to after a first-round playoff exit last year is contagious.

"I would say we're starving," White said earlier in the offseason. "We're very hungry, we're starving. We want it. We want it for each other. we want it for our vets, our older guys looking at where they are in their career and how they want to walk off and things like that. The young guys, we want it and want that for them as a collective. We're hungry."

The Bucs have quite a few more practices before Week 1 rolls around, but the team will be in pads for the first time since January on Monday and then will get to take part in a joint practice against the Tennessee Titans in two weeks. Both of those days should bring some intensity to practice, and then the Bucs can show just how hungry they really are.