When his career first started, safety Antoine Winfield Jr. quickly became one of the best players in the league for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Multiple Pro Bowls, and All-Pro nod, and a Super Bowl ring were just some of the accolades that the former Minnesota product earned.
If the first four seasons of his career were amogn the best for a safety during that span, the 2024 season was anything but.
Winfield suffered multiple injuries that cost him eight games, and was ineffective in the games he did play due to his injury. He suffered through the worst season of his career.
Instead of panicking, though, the Buccaneers have trust that the veteram will bounce back.
Pro Football Focus agrees with their opinion. They listed Winfield as an easy bounce-back candidate for the 2025 season.
“Tampa Bay struggled to defend the middle of the field in 2024, due in part to injuries and a dip in production from star safety Antoine Winfield Jr", PFF said. "He posted a career-low 50.8 coverage grade and, for the first time in his career, failed to record an interception.”
Winfield's struggles were a key reason why the Buccaneers defense suffered through one of their worst years in recent memory. They had the worst pass defense, and struggled to get after the passer consistently.
That can change if Winfield id at 100%.
And if he can have a resurgence in 2025, the Buccaneers defense should get back to title contention realtively quickly.