The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took care of business in a blowout win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
It’s a game that saw star quarterback Baker Mayfield throw four touchdowns with zero interceptions as Tampa Bay won by the score of 37-20.
Unfortunately, that’s not the biggest story one day after the fact. It’s all about injuries for the Buccaneers. Primarily, their secondary.
Cornerback Bryce Hall is likely lost for the season after being carted off the field with an apparent ankle injury. Fellow cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Josh Hayes also had to leave due to injury.
That’s in no way the extent of it. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. suffered a ankle/foot sprain and will be sidelined for at least a couple weeks.
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Winfield Jr. suffered the injury on the final couple plays of the game. Though, it could have been a more serious injury. In a vacuum, this qualifies as pretty decent news for the Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay made the 26-year-old Winfield Jr. the highest-paid safety in the NFL this past offseason. It inked him to a four-year, $84.1 million contract extension.
A second-round pick out of Minnesota in the 2020 NFL Draft, Winfield Jr. has morphed into one of the better defensive backs in the game. Last season saw him record 122 tackles with three interceptions. He also forced an NFL-high six forced fumbles. This is a major short-term loss for Tampa.