Buccaneers S Antoine Winfield To Miss Time

The injury is yet another blow to an 0-4 Tampa Bay squad that will be without quarterback Baker Mayfield, linebacker SirVocea Dennis, and cornerback Benjamin Morrison in Week 5 against the Cowboys. Mayfield will be missing his second straight game as he rehabs a thumb injury in the hopes of beating his three-week recovery timeline.

Winfield, 28, will spend a similar amount of time on the shelf. He bounced back from an injury-impacted down year in 2024 for his second career Pro Bowl last season, but his impact was still nowhere near his 2023 All-Pro form. This year, Winfield recorded a respectable 24 tackles through four games, the second-most on the Bucs defense, but just one quarterback hit – and nothing else. He has still graded out as one of the league’s top safeties, according Pro Football Focus (subscription required), with run defense and tackling grades that both rank fourth among starters.

Bowles primarily deployed Winfield as a free safety this year with Tykee Smith occupying a more versatile role. Six-year veteran Ifeatu Melifonwu replaced Winfield when he left the game in Week 4 and will likely be in line to start in Dallas on Thursday night. But Tampa Bay’s other safety depth is unproven outside of Miles Killebrew, who is better known for his special teams experience. General manager Jason Licht may have to explore his free agent options at the position.